Fox News host Andrew Napolitano met last week with Donald Trump to discuss the now-president’s pick to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court, and revealed some of the contents of their conversation in an interview today with St. Louis radio host Jamie Allman.
Napolitano said that he spent about 30 minutes alone with Trump before being joined by two advisers. As he was on his way out, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg came in for his meeting with Trump.
Napolitano said that he and Trump discussed broadening the Supreme Court’s Heller decision—which struck down certain gun regulations —and that he told the president-elect it was one of the “things that he and his team should explore in the intellect, in the mentality of potential judges.”
He also said that Trump was “fascinated” by and “loves the idea” that reversing Roe v. Wade would lead to some states allowing abortion and some states criminalizing it, so that people can “vote with [their] feet” and move to a state based on whether it allows abortion. Trump said in November that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, as he would like, some women will “have to go to another state” to obtain the procedure. In March, Trump said women would “go back to a position like they had where they would perhaps go to illegal places.”
Napolitano reported:
We talked about the effect of Roe v. Wade, should it be overturned, where abortion would be more plentiful and where abortion would be unlawful. He loves the idea that Ronald Reagan articulated, which was pioneered not by Reagan but by the framers, which is you can vote with your feet, so if you want to live in a place where abortion is legal up to the moment of birth, go to New Jersey, where it is legal up to the moment of birth. If you want to live in a state where it will probably be illegal if Roe v. Wade goes away, go to Texas or go to Pennsylvania. He was fascinated with all of that, how the Constitution can mean different things in different states.
Napolitano also said that he believes Trump will pick a candidate from the two lists of potential nominees he released during his campaign, saying that while “there is a dark horse candidate not on the list,” Trump “feels he’ll avoid a political firestorm if he sticks to the list.”
Here’s the full interview with Allman:
