The Trump vendetta ride against anyone and everyone he perceives to have slighted him continues apace, and today’s target of opportunity is Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Former President Donald Trump, in a book out Tuesday by Michael Wolff, says he is “very disappointed” in votes by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, his own hard-won nominee, and that he “hasn’t had the courage you need to be a great justice.”
Driving the news: “There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to,” Trump told Wolff in an interview for the cheekily titled “Landslide.”
“Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn’t even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him.”
Between the lines: After the election, as Axios’ Jonathan Swan reported in his “Off the Rails” series, Trump saved his worst venom for people who he believed owed him because he got them their jobs.
He would rant endlessly about the treachery of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, reminding people of how he shot up in the primary polls after Trump endorsed him.
Over lunches in the private dining room adjoining the Oval Office, Trump used to reminisce about how he saved Kavanaugh by sticking by him.
For Kavanaugh to not do Trump’s bidding on the matter of ultimate importance — overturning the election — was, in Trump’s mind, a betrayal of the highest order.
Wolff writes that Trump feels betrayed by all three justices he put on the court, including Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, but “reserved particular bile for Kavanaugh.”
Recalling the brutal confirmation fight, Trump said: “Practically every senator called me … and said, ‘Cut him loose, sir, cut him loose. He’s killing us, Kavanaugh.’ … I said, ‘I can’t do that.'”
“I had plenty of time to pick somebody else,” Trump continued. “I went through that thing and fought like hell for Kavanaugh — and I saved his life, and I saved his career. At great expense to myself … okay? I fought for that guy and kept him.”
“I don’t want anything … but I am very disappointed in him, in his rulings,” Trump said.“I can’t even believe what’s happening. I’m very disappointed in Kavanaugh. I just told you something I haven’t told a lot of people. In retrospect, he just hasn’t had the courage you need to be a great justice. I’m basing this on more than just the election.”
Fun, ain’t it? Big picture this is meaningless ranting. Kavanaugh has a lifetime appointment and could care less what anyone says about him as he lives the rest of his days upon the highest court in the land. Trump once again proves that despite his bragging about been a transactional business genius he doesn’t understand that folks not named Trump sometimes have concerns not named Trump that take precedent. Like the law. Like lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. Like understanding the Trump presidency is temporary and their careers are very long indeed. Besides, the president who openly bragged and promised to only pick someone from the FedSoc list provided to him wasn’t paying that much attention to these nominees ahead of time anyway. Let’s be grown folks on how these things work: Powerful people steered Brett Kavanaugh into Trump’s line of sight, shepherded his selection through, all the while making it seem like it was Trump’s idea, and it is those people that the Brett Kavanaughs of the world will owe their thanks and loyalty too.
The former president can rant and rave about Kavanaugh all he likes, but unlike some of the elected officials he has taken aim at, and is actively campaigning against, there isn’t a blessed thing he can do about it. Other than complain to an increasingly shrinking audience.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person not surprised with Kavanaugh. His record indicated he’d be very similar to Roberts, at most a hair to his right. I think that’s exactly what he has been so far.Report
Concerns about the law?
Don’t make me cry.
The law left the building along with Trump.
Ain’t nobody playin’ by the rules no more.
Duck and cover.Report
This is the existential threat to democracy I referred to.
Somewhere north of 80% of the Republican party support Trump’s vision of government, that all the organs of state are supposed to be the loyal vassals of the Boss.Report
We survived Andrew Jackson’s Spoils System, and we can survive Donald Trump’s watered-down vision of it too. Yes, it requires ultimately rejecting it and there are people who can’t see past the person to understand the institution. But these sorts are likely more than proportionally coincident with the sort of people who show up to ransack the Capitol and brag on social media about storming the “White House.” The kinds of people who actually do things in the government, at least for now, mostly behave within expected institutional limits. The really dangerous ones (like Bill Barr) are still few and far between.Report
Kavanaugh’s performance at his confirmation hearing was pure Trump. He should be proud of the homage.Report