President Donald Trump released a list of potential nominees for future Supreme Court vacancies Wednesday, returning to a 2016 campaign strategy that proved popular with right-wing leaders.
In 2016, religious-right leaders used Trump’s pledge to give them an anti-choice Supreme Court as justification for telling conservative Christians who may have had qualms about supporting the amoral Trump that they needed to vote for him anyway.
This year’s list is also heavy with judges who are right-wing ideologues, but it includes a new feature designed to excite right-wing activists: the inclusion of three U.S. senators from the far-right wing of the GOP, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Josh Hawley.
The three senators—more familiar to right-wing activists than any judge or law professor—were highlighted in a Trump campaign email Wednesday and in a tweet from Trump campaign lawyer and Liberty University Falkirk Center fellow Jenna Ellis:
If anyone doubts President @realDonaldTrump’s commitment to pro-life and defending the right to life for every child made in God’s image and religious freedom, his list of Supreme Court nominees including @HawleyMO, @SenTomCotton, and @tedcruz should make it CRYSTAL CLEAR!! ❤️
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) September 9, 2020
Anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ leaders jumped in to praise Trump’s list. The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins celebrated the “generational impact” of Trump’s court picks.
The Court, because of its generational impact, will be a major part of @realDonaldTrump’s legacy. This list has some stellar options for the next 4 years. No doubt another point of contrast with Biden/Harris, if they dare release a list.
List: https://t.co/FnuTfYQbUh https://t.co/66OZSFdzSz
— Tony Perkins (@tperkins) September 10, 2020
The Christian Broadcasting Network rounded up some right-wing reaction:
“President Trump’s latest Supreme Court list is filled with all-stars,” stated Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The list reflects the president’s firm and proven commitment to only nominating Supreme Court justices who will respect the Constitution and the inalienable right to life.”
Alliance Defending Freedom President Michael Farris stated, “Any judge or justice should interpret the Constitution faithfully, which means protecting the right to life and the right to peacefully speak, live, and work consistent with one’s religious beliefs. The president has promised to appoint justices committed to doing just that.”
While Hawley responded to the announcement by saying he wasn’t interested in serving on the court, Cotton tweeted, “It’s time for Roe v. Wade to go,” earning cheers from the Heritage Foundation’s anti-LGBTQ and anti-choice Ryan Anderson:
The Court, because of its generational impact, will be a major part of @realDonaldTrump’s legacy. This list has some stellar options for the next 4 years. No doubt another point of contrast with Biden/Harris, if they dare release a list.
List: https://t.co/FnuTfYQbUh https://t.co/66OZSFdzSz
— Tony Perkins (@tperkins) September 10, 2020
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz took the opportunity to plug his new book about the Supreme Court.
Am humbled & deeply honored to be on President Trump’s SCOTUS list, released today.
I spent this Summer writing a book on the Supreme Court, telling the inside story of how our constitutional liberties hang in the balance, One Vote Away.
PRE-ORDER here: https://t.co/CspAgcr7yO
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 9, 2020
In announcing his list, Trump unconvincingly cloaked his catalog of anti-healthcare, anti-equality, anti-choice potential nominees in the rhetoric of justice and equality. “Every one of these individuals will ensure equal justice, equal treatment, and equal rights for citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed,” he said at the White House Wednesday. “Together, we will defend our righteous heritage and preserve our magnificent American way of life.”
Trump also returned to the fearmongering rhetoric that is increasingly marking his campaign:
If this extreme movement is granted a majority on the Supreme Court, it will fundamentally transform America without a single vote of Congress. Radical justices will erase the Second Amendment, silence political speech and require taxpayers to fund extreme, late-term abortion.
They will give unelected bureaucrats the power to destroy millions of American jobs. They will remove the words ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance. They will unilaterally declare the death penalty unconstitutional, even for the most depraved mass murderers. They will erase national borders, cripple police departments, and grant new protections to anarchists, rioters, violent criminals, and terrorists.
