Watergate journalist Bob Woodward released a series of clips showing President Trump express thoughts on the Supreme Court and his nominee Neil Gorsuch.
On Sunday night, Woodward spoke with CNN host Anderson Cooper and played audio of several interviews with the president, most of which were integrated into his new book, Rage. Trump’s ruminations on the judiciary, particularly on how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made confirming judges to the federal courts a top priority, take on new significance following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday at the age of 87 and the gathering political storm over confirming a new jurist.
In the tapes, Trump talked about his presidential legacy as being defined by his judicial appointments and declined to criticize Gorsuch, who was confirmed by the Senate to replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. The conversations spanned from December to this summer.
“I just signed my 187th federal judge. It’s a record, 187 judges in less than three years, Bob. And two Supreme Court judges — never been done before. The only one that has a better percentage is George Washington because he appointed 100%. But my percentage is, you know, like ridiculous,” Trump said.
Woodward corrected Trump’s claim that he proportionally nominated more judges than any other president besides George Washington in his book. “Among recent presidents, Clinton, Carter and Nixon had each filled a greater percentage of federal judgeships by late January of the fourth year of their first term. He was also not alone in appointing two Supreme Court justices in his first term — Presidents Obama, Clinton and George H. W. Bush had also done so,” Woodward wrote.
During the interview, Trump declined to criticize Gorsuch, whom he appointed in 2017, despite the fact that the two had diverging opinions on Bostock v. Clayton County, a major Supreme Court case pertaining to gay and transgender employment discrimination. “Well, it’s the way he felt. It’s the way he felt,” Trump said.
“And that’s OK with you?” Woodward asked, noting that Gorsuch voted against his administration.
“But this is the way he felt. And, you know, I want people to go the way they feel. I mean, he felt he was doing the right thing. I do think it opens — I do think it opens the spigots for a lot of litigation,” Trump said.
Trump described McConnell’s biggest priority as the confirmation of judges to the federal courts. “You know what Mitch’s biggest thing is in the whole world? His judges,” Trump said. “If I have 10 ambassadors — and a judge can take long to get approved, you know? Which I guess is probably right. Should be, right? He will absolutely ask me, please let’s get the judge approved instead of 10 ambassadors.”
In a separate conversation, Trump once again discussed how he expected the number of federal judges he appoints to the judiciary to exceed 280. He described them as “golden nuggets.”
Woodward also discussed Chief Justice John Roberts with the president, saying he thinks he’s trying to maintain a balance to uphold the entity of the Supreme Court above politics. “You really want to get people in there who are good lawyers and can think. And if you politicize the courts, particularly the Supreme Court, that’s a bad thing for America,” Woodward said.
“Right. Well, is Roberts doing it?” Trump responded. “Well, I think he’s been very careful,” Woodward replied.
Woodward speculated that if Trump were on the Supreme Court, he would have “voted for more freedom,” referencing the expansion of civil rights protections to gay and transgender people. “That’s very interesting,” Trump replied. “Well, I’ll never get that vote. I don’t know, but I am what’s good for people. All people. So, you know, that’s where I am.”
