US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has publicly pushed back against President Donald Trump after the president dismissed a federal judge as an “Obama judge” in a dispute over asylum policy.
The exchange came on 22 November 2018, after Mr Trump criticised US District Judge Jon Tigar for blocking part of his immigration proclamation. Roberts said the judiciary must not be divided into political camps, telling the Associated Press: “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.”
He added: “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.” Speaking on the eve of Thanksgiving, he said an “independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for”.
Trump responded on Twitter on Wednesday, insisting Roberts was wrong and arguing that “Obama judges...have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country”. He also pointed to the 9th Circuit Court, which had been involved in rulings against his immigration measures.
The clash followed Trump’s remarks outside the White House, where he called the 9th Circuit “a disgrace” and said: “This was an Obama judge. And I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen like this anymore.”
The dispute centred on a proclamation signed on 9 November 2018 that required asylum seekers to present themselves at official entry points, with the administration saying people who entered illegally would not have their cases heard. A statement at the time said: “We are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility.”
Roberts, appointed chief justice in 2005 by President George W Bush, was responding to a request for comment on Trump’s attack. The intervention was notable because it was the first time the chief justice had spoken against Trump.
The article also recalled earlier flashpoints between Trump and the courts. In 2017, he attacked a federal judge who reversed his travel ban, calling him a “so-called judge” with a “ridiculous” opinion. In 2016, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apologised after calling Trump a “faker” in an interview, following criticism that judges should avoid commenting on candidates.
Nyakundi Report notes that the episode underscored how sharply the White House and the federal judiciary had begun to collide as Trump repeatedly questioned the motives and impartiality of judges.
Background ¶
Roberts’ rebuke also carried added weight because of his own history on the court. He was appointed in 2005, and in 2012 he wrote the opinion upholding the constitutionality of Obamacare, a ruling that later angered many Trump supporters who viewed him as insufficiently loyal to their cause.
The broader fight was tied to the large group of Central American migrants moving toward the US-Mexico border. Trump had intensified his rhetoric during the mid-term election season, describing the caravan as “an invasion”.
By the time Roberts spoke, the dispute had become more than a legal disagreement. It had turned into a public test of how far a president could go in attacking judges while the courts continued to block parts of his immigration agenda.
