Florida Governor and 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis made light of Trump Supreme Court appointees Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch, saying that the three aren’t “on the same level” as conservative justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who the Bush administrations appointed.
Asked by Salem Radio host Hugh Hewitt if his Supreme Court appointments would be like President Trump’s, DeSantis responded,
Well, actually I would say we’ll do better than that. I mean, I respect the three appointees he did, but none of those three are at the same level of Justices Thomas and Justice Alito. I think they are the gold standard, and so my justices will be along the lines of Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas.”
Gov. @RonDeSantis: "None of" Trump's 3 Supreme Court appointees "are at the same level of Justices Thomas and Justice Alito. I think they are the gold standard, and so my justices will be along the lines of a Sam Alito and a Clarence Thomas." pic.twitter.com/fxSPmp2LSt
— Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) June 12, 2023
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Months before election day in 2016, then-candidate Trump promised to appoint pro-life judges who would overturn Roe. Ultimately, it would be Trump’s Supreme Court appointees who formed the backbone of the six-three decision that saw Roe v. Wade – and federal abortion protection – removed from U.S. law. While previous Republican-appointed judges upheld Roe in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a case from 1992, Trump’s picks were unique in their unanimous opposition to federal abortion protection.
Despite Trump’s picks making unprecedented advances for the pro-life movement, DeSantis believes there’s still room for improvement. The Florida governor pledged to appoint “gold standard” justices as president and mentioned his takeover of the previously liberal-dominated Florida Supreme Court as evidence that he could do so.
“In Florida I inherited a very liberal state supreme court, maybe the most liberal in the country, very activist. But I was able to replace three of the four liberals my first month in office, with conservative justices. I’ve since been able to make a number of appointments since then. So we now have the most conservative state supreme court in the country, so I think we have a really good track record.” ~Ron DeSantis to Hugh Hewitt
DeSantis’s less-than-flattering remarks about Trump’s supreme court appointees are a stark departure from the glamorous praise he offered while the former president was still in office. Posts from the governor’s Twitter praised Justice Amy Coney Barrett as an “outstanding choice” and “terrific judge.”
.@realDonaldTrump made an outstanding choice for the U.S. Supreme Court in Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has had an exemplary legal career & been a terrific judge. She will apply the law of the Constitution faithfully & serve as an inspiration to millions of our fellow citizens.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 27, 2020
Clips from Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial primary race show the 2024 candidate saying that Trump “has done a better job appointing judges… than any other president in my lifetime, including one of my heroes, Ronald Reagan.”
Rob DeSanctimonious is a LIAR! Typical politician. pic.twitter.com/ia42FJftnf
— Washington, D.C. Young Republicans (@WashingtonDCYRs) June 12, 2023
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Trump’s chief spokeswoman Liz Harrington slammed DeSantis’s remarks on Twitter, saying he “flip-flopped” again and claiming that the governor “Does not support Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.”
Supporters of the Florida Governor have pointed out that he never directly said he didn’t support them – instead, he just promised to do even better as president.
@CommunityNotes @NoteNeeded can we get a fact-check on this obvious lie?
DeSantis never once said he “does not support” any of the three Supreme Court justices named here.
He said Clarence Thomas is the gold-standard and Trump failed to find anyone that matches up to him.
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) June 12, 2023
The latest polling aggregation from RealClear Politics shows that President Trump still holds a commanding lead over DeSantis by 31.8 points, with both candidates taking a minor poll hit after former Vice President Mike Pence entered the race last week.
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