Trump slams Supreme Court over 'horrible' mail-in ballot ruling / Photo: © AFP
Trump slams Supreme Court over 'horrible' mail-in ballot ruling
US President Donald Trump blasted the Supreme Court on Tuesday after it blocked his divisive plan to restrict mail-in ballots, launching a rare and blistering attack on the justices he hand-picked in his first term.
Trump accused the conservative-dominated court of allowing itself to be cowed by Democrats and said it had delivered some of the most "destructive, hurtful, and damaging decisions in our Country's history."
The president did not name the justices but singled out the ones he had nominated in his first spell in the White House -- Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch -- for special criticism.
"These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
"The Supreme Court has really let our Country down! Certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats, and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America."
On Monday, the Supreme Court dealt Trump a major blow ahead of November's midterm elections when it denied his request to lift an order halting his plan to limit mail-in voting.
Republican Trump signed an executive order in March seeking to restrict mail-in voting, saying without evidence that it is vulnerable to fraud. The order quickly prompted multiple legal challenges.
Trump admitted it was rare for the US president, who heads the executive branch of the US government, to criticize the Supreme Court, which heads the judicial branch.
"It is not easy for me to write this criticism of the United States Supreme Court -- it will likely cost me dearly for years to come -- but I feel it my obligation and duty, as President, to do so for the America we love!"
- 'Horrible' -
The Supreme Court ruled that there was not enough time to implement the restriction on mail-in ballots.
Justice Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion with the majority, said Trump's plan may ultimately be legal in the long run, but "state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections."
Only two of the six conservative justices -- Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito -- on the nine-member panel offered a dissent.
Trump called the decision itself "horrible" and "highly political."
Democratic-led states sued the administration on grounds that under the US Constitution, states -- and not the federal government -- retain broad control over the administration of elections.
"Trump’s scheme was so on-the-nose, so un-American, so flagrantly unconstitutional that the MAGA Court had no choice but to make the right call," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.
More than 30 countries worldwide offer citizens the opportunity to vote using a mail-in ballot.
"It is a big loss for Republicans, and America itself, and makes cheating by the Radical Left 'Dumocrats,' on Mail-In Ballots, a much easier thing to do - And now they have an open field to do so!" Trump wrote.
The president has repeatedly denounced mail-in voting as corrupt -- despite using it himself, including to vote in Florida's Republican primary just last month.
The fight, alongside disputes over partisan redistricting in around a dozen states, comes with high political stakes ahead of the November 3 elections.
Republicans hold narrow congressional majorities, but Democrats are favored to capture the House and possibly the Senate as Trump's approval ratings remain weak and voters voice frustration over living costs and the continuing war with Iran.
Losing control of Congress could not only stymie Trump's legislative agenda in the final two years of his presidency, but also expose him to investigations and even a third impeachment.
(N.Loginovsky--DTZ)
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