Recuse Me, What Did You Say?: RBG and Donald Trump Go Head-to-Head

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has all the qualities of your favorite grandma: 83 years old, looks great in glasses, makes borderline inappropriate political comments.

The Supreme Court justice came under intense scrutiny this week after publicly criticizing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump not once, not twice, but three times, calling him a faker, inconsistent, and chastising him for his ego, all while reaching for her passport so she could move to another country pending his inauguration.

Trump did not take it well.

Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot – resign!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 13, 2016

RBG isn’t the first to let her doubts about Trump bleed out into newsfeeds, but this is different from the typical political figure because as a SCOTUS justice, she is, by definition, supposed to avoid being political. Despite common knowledge of Ginsburg’s liberal tendencies, her position as a justice calls for objectivity and removal from the political sphere when making court decisions, and many think she may have crossed the line.

Even the @NYTimes and @WashingtonPost Editorial Boards condemned Justice Ginsburg for her ethical and legal breach. What was she thinking?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 13, 2016

Her comments led to a huge debate by legal ethicists and judges nationwide and there is a legitimate fear of a Bush v. Gore sequel, in which Ginsburg would have to recuse herself because she has demonstrated a clear bias against one of the parties.

But on Thursday, RBG did take a couple steps back from the fight. She said in a statement,

On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them…Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect.

Still, it seems like these two won’t be fast friends if he does make it to the White House.

Samantha Reilly

Samantha Reilly is an editorial intern at Law Street Media. A New Jersey native, she is pursuing a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. Contact Samantha at SReilly@LawStreetMedia.com.