Donald Trump made history on Wednesday by becoming the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court oral arguments. He also became the first to leave early.
Trump’s motorcade arrived just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday. He took a seat in the front row of the public gallery, typically reserved for members of Congress, and stared down 9 justices as his lawyer argued for ending birthright citizenship.
Roughly an hour later, the motorcade was back on Independence Avenue. He stayed through his own side’s arguments but left before the other side began presenting theirs.
The case, Trump v. Barbara, is built on his day-one executive order seeking to strip automatic citizenship from children born in the United States to parents here illegally or temporarily. The 14th Amendment has protected that right since 1868. Trump’s position is that a century and a half of constitutional interpretation has been wrong.
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The justices were not convinced. Including the ones he appointed.
Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump recently called “an embarrassment to her family,” came straight for the argument. “You say the purpose of the 14th Amendment was to put all newly freed slaves on equal footing and so they would be citizens,” she told Solicitor General D. John Sauer. “But that’s not textual. So how do you get there?”
Sauer struggled to give a clear answer, and Gorsuch didn’t make it any easier.
“Do you think Native Americans are birthright citizens under your test?” he asked. Sauer’s response fell flat. “Ah, I think… so. I’ll have to think that through.”
Later, when Sauer argued, “We’re in a new world where eight billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a U.S. citizen,” Roberts replied, “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”
Outside, protesters held signs reading “Born in the USA equals citizen” and “Defend the Constitution.” More than 250,000 people had signed a petition against the order before arguments even began.
Back at the White House, Trump posted on Truth Social. “We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!”
Around 33 countries have birthright citizenship, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. He got that wrong too.
The day before the hearing, Trump had told reporters which justices he would be watching most closely. “I love a few of them,” he said. “I don’t like some others.” The ones he does not like were the same ones who spent Wednesday morning tearing into his lawyer.
He had also initially said he would not attend, posting on Truth Social that he did not “want to distract from the importance of this Decision.” He reversed course days later, tucking the news inside a lengthy post about the case. Showing up anyway. Leaving early anyway.
A ruling is expected by late June. If the court sides against him, over 250,000 babies born in the U.S. each year could be affected.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
