We begin on Friday, September 18th, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away at the age of 87 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. After a rally in Minnesota, President Trump learns of her death and reacts by calling her an “amazing woman” who led an “amazing life.”
Given Trump’s knack for coming off as petty and uncouth, it was a classy response from the president and sets the example for his base that while there’s a Supreme Court fight that is supposed to get pretty nasty ahead, there’s little reason to dance on the grave of an ideological opponent.
Saturday, September 19th, President Trump gives his blessingfor Oracle-WalMart to purchase the social media app, TikTok, resolving the tech issue that many White House officials viewed as a national security threat.
Meanwhile, at a rally in North Carolina, Trump says he will nominate a woman to fill Ginsburg’s vacant seat on the Supreme Court, suggesting the nomination could come in the next week.
Sunday, September 20th, a woman who allegedly sent President Trump a letter containing the poison ricin is arrested at the U.S.-Canada border crossing in New York as she was attempting to enter the country.
Monday, September 21st, President Trump meets with Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House as she emerges as the favorite to become his third nominee to the Supreme Court, replacing Justice Ginsburg. Trump also stated that he will make his announcement on Saturday, Sept. 26th and that he’ll meet with Judge Barbara Lagoa, another potential nominee, when he travels to Florida later in the week.
Tuesday, September 22nd, the United States passes 200,000 reported deaths from the coronavirus. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, COVID-19 is one of the leading causes of death in the country.
Wednesday, September 23rd, during a White House press briefing, President Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the 2020 presidential election.
Thursday, September 24th, President Trump and the First Lady pay their respects to Justice Ginsburg as she lies in repose at the Supreme Court. The crowd was a little less than friendly.
The death of Justice Ginsburg changes the election almost entirely. Nothing energizes the conservative and liberals bases quite like a Supreme Court fight. Given the parallels with the 2016 election when there was a vacancy with the death of Antonin Scalia, President Trump, who is lagging in the polls nationally to Joe Biden, can make or break his re-election chances with his latest Supreme Court nominee.
