A conservative commentator predicts that President Donald Trump, who has suffered several high-profile losses at the Supreme Court despite confirming three of the six Republican judges on the nine-jurist bench, is likely to pick a “real psycho” to avoid future defeats.
Read more WSJ board gives the game away on who Murdoch-owned media wants in 2028
“If [Justice Samuel] Alito were to retire — all of the energy would be to shove it through before there’s any question about replacing a Susan Collins, right?” The Bulwark’s Tim Miller said on Tuesday in a podcast appearance with their colleagues Sarah Longwell and Andrew Egger. The three pundits were discussing an unsubstantiated report that Alito, one of the most pro-Trump and conservative judges, is thinking of retiring. “I mean, I think that would be the thought process there.”
Because the Senate needs to confirm Supreme Court picks, Trump’s challenge would be getting someone through the process if Republicans lose control of the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections. Republicans currently have a 53-to-47 seat majority, but they could lose that if Democrats can flip competitive states like Alaska (where Democrat Mary Peltola faces incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan), Ohio (where Democrat Sherrod Brown opposes incumbent Republican Jon Husted), North Carolina (home of an outgoing incumbent Republican, Thom Tillis, and including Republican Michael Whatley against Democrat Roy Cooper), Texas (home of an outgoing Republican, John Cornyn, and including Republican Ken Paxton against Democrat James Talarico) and Maine (where Democrat Graham Platner faces off against incumbent Republican Susan Collins).
“I think that if Alito were to do it, he would maybe do it for purposes of court stability,” Miller said. “But I am not necessarily convinced that having a big fight over one of these crazy people — which is not just what the MAGA base demands, but what Donald Trump has decided he needs — he is done with these Federalist Society judges that stab him periodically, and is totally ready to send some real psycho up in there.”
Read more ‘You are going to lose’: Conservative tears apart Trump’s manhood
He continued, “And I just — I think there would be a big, messy fight. I think it would not just be Susan Collins. I think you’d risk losing guys like Bill Cassidy, guys like Thom Tillis. And that — like, you could have a giant, actual problem on your hands that is not to any Republican’s benefit electorally, before guys like Platner or Talarico even arrive on the scene.”
Trump’s recent defeats at the Supreme Court include his attempt to duck his settlement with E. Jean Carroll, who he was found liable to have sexually assaulted; his attempt to force states to not count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day; and his attempt to unilaterally impose tariffs that the judges ultimately deemed unconstitutional.
Read more The Supreme Court just changed everything about American democracy
