Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito struggled to acknowledge Donald Trump’s “very harsh” attacks on the court without also placing blame on Joe Biden.
Alito, 76, sat down with CBS News in an interview that touched on a number of subjects, including his potential retirement and how he lost friends over his leading role in overturning Roe v. Wade. The George W. Bush appointee, who, along with Clarence Thomas, has been one of the Trump administration’s most reliable votes, was pressed about the president’s unprecedented criticisms of the court as a whole and, at times, of individual justices.
When asked first about political leaders “on both sides talking about the Supreme Court as though justices are just nothing more than political actors trying to deliver victory to their team,” Alito said it “can be quite damaging.”
“There’s been a great change in what presidents have said about the court when they are unhappy about our decisions. Traditionally, what presidents would say is, ‘The Supreme Court has made its decision. I disagree with it, but we have to abide by it.’ And that was it. That’s what presidents said. That’s what members of the cabinet said. That has changed,” he said.
CBS Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford followed up: “Did Trump change that?”
Alito seemed reluctant to speak ill of Trump.
“Uh, it’s been bipartisan,” he said. “It’s a bipartisan, uh, effort.”
“But in terms of presidents,” Crawford pressed. “I mean, the language that we’re hearing from President Trump is different—certainly with social media.”
Alito then glossed over Trump’s attacks.
“He has his own way of saying things,” he said. “But the criticism of the court—I want to be evenhanded on this: The criticism of the court by President Biden—and justices—by President Biden and his administration, was very harsh.”
“And President Trump,” he continued, pausing a moment, “has been very harsh.”
Trump, 80, has lashed out at the court for ruling against him on issues like tariffs and birthright citizenship.
In February, two of his nominees—Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett—voted to strike down his tariffs. In response, Trump fumed that they—along with Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s liberals—were “lap dogs,” a “disgrace to our nation” and “disloyal to the Constitution.”
By contrast, Trump said he was “so proud” of “genius” Brett Kavanaugh, who voted with Alito and Thomas in favor of the tariffs.
The ruling, Trump also wrote on Truth Social, was “ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive.” The court as a whole, he added, was “incompetent.”
In July, when the court struck down his birthright citizenship executive order, Trump called the decision “insane” and a “miscarriage of justice.”
It wasn’t immediately clear which criticisms of the court by Biden and his administration Alito was referring to.
The Supreme Court’s public information office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
In his interview with CBS, Alito was also asked about Trump trying to use conservative justices like himself to advance the MAGA movement.
“You’re saying you’re following the law, whichever way it leads you, but when you see the president of the United States talking about, you know, you and some of your colleagues as being part of his political MAGA movement, that you’re trying to make America great again. Does that bother you?” Crawford asked.
“Well, we are not part of any political movement,” Alito said, “and we are not attempting to further any political agenda. We are trying to interpret the Constitution as best we can and apply it in the cases that come before us.”
