Donald Trump may have just lost his Supreme Court overthrow gambit
When Donald Trump and his regime first started publicly hinting that they might try to simply ignore Supreme Court rulings against them, I wrote that it was a stupid move. Trump didn’t appear to have the muscle to convince the general public to let him overthrow the Supreme Court (particularly after his failed tariff gambit turned independents against him). Just as importantly, it was going to piss off Chief Justice John Roberts, who decided awhile ago that he wants to run the country. In other words, I expected Roberts to find a way to retaliate against him.
Sure enough, now that Trump has begun trying to figure out how to defy the Supreme Court on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia wrongful deportation case, Roberts’ Supreme Court has suddenly ruled 7-2 that Trump essentially can’t use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport anyone. Maybe the Supreme Court was going to rule this way anyway. But given the timing, and the fact that Roberts and the two Justices he has the most control over voted against Trump, it sure feels like this is Roberts’ way of sending a message to Trump: try to defy us and we’ll make sure you keep losing.
Remember, John Roberts and his Supreme Court didn’t give the President unlimited power with their Trump immunity ruling. Roberts and the Supreme Court ruled that they get to decide what any given President does and doesn’t have immunity for. With that ruling, Roberts anointed himself King, not Trump. And now it appears Roberts will keep ruling against Trump on everything until Trump takes a hint and stops trying to defy him.
Having John Roberts as King isn’t necessarily any better than having Donald Trump as King. They’re each fully corrupt in their own way. But as long as Trump and Roberts are at odds with each other, it has to be good news for us. So let’s keep watching this Trump vs Supreme Court feud and cautiously hope that it ends up working in our favor.
