Will Trump rescind his nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court?
I ask the question because Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Calls Trump’s Comments on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’.
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Wednesday called President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on the judiciary “demoralizing and disheartening” in a closed-door meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), the senator said.
The remarks were confirmed by the team charged with ensuring the judge’s confirmation.
Mr. Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the former Connecticut attorney general, said he asked Judge Gorsuch to respond to Mr. Trump’s recent outbursts after a federal judge temporarily blocked his executive order to suspend entry of travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries out of national security concerns.
The White House referred a request for comment back to the confirmation team.
“He said [the attacks] were demoralizing and disheartening—those were his words,” Sen. Blumenthal told reporters in a conference call. “I believe he has an obligation to make his views known more explicitly and unequivocally to the American people.”
Will Trump now renounce his own pick?
Hardly anything would be a surprise at this point.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Perhaps the only surprise might be you renouncing your support for this man and the people behind him, his corporate “backers”. Your support and the support of others like you bolsters them.
“In April 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt sent the US Congress the following warning: “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism.” It is a warning we would do well to remember”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/02/corporate-dark-money-power-atlantic-lobbyists-brexit
Said the man who incarcerated entire Japanese families.
Not Japanese families; American families of Japanese descent.
And used government money to buy policy voting districts during an economic depression, not to mention put known socialist/communists in his cabinet and closest advisors.
And whose distant relative forcibly opened & armed Japan calling them ‘Honorary Aryans’ who will wipe out the yellow horde on the mainland. As always, US foreign policy that comes back and bites us in the ass. Do we ever phucking learn? Damn, we are a stupid country.
We are not a stupid country. We have some very bad people like other country’s. Unfortunately some of them abused their position of power and influence. Mistakes were made in judgement that built very bad policy. Not our finest moment. We are trying to fix it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the same Devine influence that inspired our founding fathers will help us get out of the swamp. Hopefully Trump will also take some advisement from Rand Paul and his father Ron. I keep sending him some of Mish’s best incites as well as that of Jim Grant. Who knows if enough people did that the light bulb will go off and he’ll say hey let’s bring them as his advisors!! It’s America lots of unbelievably good things happen when you believe. And take action. Maybe another light bulb goes off and Perhaps he’ll bring in Ron Paul. I know this Mr Trump is a very smart man. He made mistakes of thought and judgement but turned himself around to be one of the more successful executive in our country.Yes he woke up on Third base so to speak but he has a terrific work ethic and he has a spine. The way he chose Judge Gorsuch was masterful as was his decision to get Rex Tillerson and Jeff Sessions. These choices are a very Start. The jury out. We shall see. We shall see. BELIEVE!
To be a little fair about it, it WAS a surprise sneak attack on Pearl Harbor after all, so you can kind of understand the distrust, besides the obvious physical appearance that made them easy to identify. There was very likely a significant public demand for his actions. What is odd is that he would do such an unenlightened thing while having so many progressive liberal communist advisors at his elbow.
Was it really a surprise sneak attack? I believe there is evidence that the Govt and military looked the other way (like 9/11 perhaps) so that it would provide them a chance to enter the way on public opinion (I remember reading that, after WW1, there was enough negative public opinion to prevent US joining the big fight across the pond).
And the man who (I believe in 1937) had tried to pack the Supreme Court.
Said the man that tried to pack the Supreme Court
Said the man who signed 3x as many executive orders as any other President.
Said the man who sent the human cargo of the St. Louis back to certain death.
Said the man who burdened us all with the welfare state.
The makings of a welfare state began in 1913 with a central bank. Bolshevik controlled central bank.
We most DEFINITELY would NEVER want the PEOPLE to grow stronger than the STATE.
OHS NOSE, NOT NEVER.
We would always rather be screwed over by an all-powerful government of NO accountability, than GM or Amazon.
It’s silly to suppose corporations and governments are not thick as thieves.
Said the man who confiscated the gold of ordinary citizens.
Said the man who for all of his pinko commie leanings was also critical of public sector unions, as if even for him was a bridge too far.
Of course not! He’s NOT stupid, contrary to what alot of you think. He would lose ALL his right-wing support. Instantly.
Would NEVER get anyone thru the Senate, then, because the R’s would then be against him, too.
As if this changes anything…
Great Mish! You do come up with fun/challenging, most relevant topics.
Trump reminds me of Dirty Harry’s famous quote: “A man’s got to know its limitations!” Trump is not very intelligent. Intelligent but not very intelligent. His EO was not well thought out and it is likely that he will not do much better next time.
He will probably calm down with the justice system but I doubt that he will learn from it because of his distorted self image. He does not accept to be wrong anytime. That is very unfortunate because admitting to be wrong sometime is the only way to learn and become better.
It’s not about Trump’s ego preventing him from admitting mistakes. He simply understands that to do so will gain him nothing and only show weakness, which for the pack of hyenas after him, is all they need. The controversies that he stimulates do not harm him and force his opposition to dilute their attacks over a wide array. They see it as lending credibility to their continued efforts at false consensus building, but opinions are largely fixed. Mish is not a Trump supporter even though he likely voted for him. For Mish Trump will have to prove himself, but bias is too difficult to overcome. For Mish, Trump is but another idiot (like many of us here), and hopes that like a blind pig looking for acorns, that Trump just gets lucky occasionally. He at least recognized that for however bad he thought Trump to be, he was still the best choice…..But he will never be sure.
The self-confidence to be able to admit to mistakes shows strength, not weakness. Repeated stupidity and bad moves without are what really show weakness, no matter how much Trump and his idiot supporters try to deny reality.
Oh stop it.
Gorsuch had to say that. He’s not confirmed yet. He knows how to play the game to win a SCOTUS appointment.
Trump had every right to criticize the Ninth Circuit. About 70% of the judges were appointed by liberal democrats. They rule based on ideology – not the law. There are more Ninth Circuit decisions overturned than any of the other regional appellate courts.
Where is it written that a sitting President cannot criticize the courts? Especially a court that criticizes a President? So the President is not allowed to publicly fight back or defend himself?
Strange that the Federal courts never interfered with orders from other Presidents who banned foreign aliens from entering the United States. Suddenly it’s a SCOTUS case?
Bull____.
This is turning into a political vendetta against Trump.
+1000 %
I rooted for Trump and Brexit and was pleased that he won. However being thoughtful and calculated and not blatantly aggressive wins the day, but not this childish bully behavior. It does not work with truly educated people.
Then what does your vote for him say about you….? 🙂 🙂
What it says about me is that I give the benefit of doubt to all, educated or not, rich or poor, powerful or not.etc. Certainly I distrust the establishment. But the winning candidate will have to be very smart and very wise. I am afraid that Trump’s ego will trump him.
Seriously? what does it say about a person who changes opinions so quickly? based on one decision you don’t like he is lacking in intelligence? Compared to who? you? You appear to have mistaken your own intelligence for ego.
Actually intelligence is a subject worthy of debate in itself. What is it and why is it so important. Is spending 3 years at a cloistered propaganda farm to get a (increasingly) worthless piece of paper and a massive debt a measure of intelligence?
Is having a certain profession a measure of intelligence? have you never met an idiot in a white coat or a fancy suit?
I think it was best described by the wonderful irreverent curmudgeon Fred Reed in this piece here. (hopefully Mish does not mind the link here to Fred’s piece)
http://fredoneverything.org/iq-a-skeptics-view/
Agree, The Donald’s ego is his own worst enemy. Then again,
He can’t be bribed, he already has all the money he could want.
He’s not a socialist or communist.
He’s (at least somewhat) anti-establishment; might even get the Fed audited.
He won’t start WW3 and another of his campaign promises was to quit being the world policeman.
He is not corrupt, in stark contrast to the Clintons. The conflicts of interest the left dream up amount to nothing or at most zip.
Once he gets his mouth under control he could be a great President.
CJ you are delusional. Trump can’t be bribed? Then why is he selling seats on the administration to the likes of DeVos? The corruption inherent in that seat alone is breathtaking.
Steve R – re intelligence – exactly. Well put! A lot of these fancy suits have a ton of theory, but absolutely no common sense.
Truly educated people do their calculating more privately?
. All of the truly educated people LOST.
Even though Trump has a very good education and has done significantly better in business and life than what I imagine YOU consider educated.
Dumb luck, right?
Good points. I seem to recall the president before Trump criticizing a Supreme Court decision in his state of the union speech while the justices were sitting in the audience. These same holier-than-thou Democratic Senators thought it was great that Obama dissed the Supreme Court. Ferguson, Boston, wherever he had the chance, Obama exercised his free speech rights to express his racist opinions against law enforcement and the Democrats cheered.
Meanwhile, the Democrats do nothing but show contempt for the law, ready to be law and order when it comes to enforcing the Obamacare mandate and individual IRS penalties for that disobedience while at the same time encouraging and rewarding illegal immigration at the expense of lawful immigration. Damn hypocrites. Trump should not allow himself to be silenced by these vermin and the cesspool mainstream media. Goresuch is showing he will do well on the Supreme Court, and win some Democrat votes to his side. But perhaps Mish has a point: Trump could withdraw Goresuch, and substitute a real firebrand that the Democrats absolutely cannot stomach.
Hopefully #2 and #3 will be !!
Here’s what Obama said (which by the way has proved to be true):
“With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that, I believe, will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections,” Obama said.
“I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests or, worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps correct some of these problems.”
It’s sad that you can’t see the difference between that and the personal, insulting, juvenile attacks by Trump.
“I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests or, worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people.”
They are decided by the American people. Obama was lying. Trump spent far less than corporate backed Hillary and still won.
Obama wants corporate money out of politics so that voters can be bought with promises of government benefits. “Obama is going to pay my rent.” Obama wants public financing of elections, to pave the road to socialism.
Obama is either a hypocrite or a liar, as his words do not match his actions. So, I do not know what he could be right about. McCain-Feingold was the name of the legislation by which presidential candidates would agree to not take special interest money. Under McCain-Feingold, each presidential candidate would get an equal amount of federal money to spend (matching funds). But Obama saw an opening, as McCain could not repudiate his own law. So, Obama opted out of McCain-Feingold in 2008, and raised over a billion dollars in special interest money. Obama does not call teachers unions, trial lawyers, and his other contributors special interests. Special interests were defined by Obama’s operatives as the corporations funding the other side.
Obama is a smooth-talking liar, a master of Orwellian doublespeak, very cool and appealing in style to many. He was elected twice, so obviously effective by that metric, and to some his policies in Libya, Obamacare, etc. are considered an immense success; and Obama claims he could have won a third term on his stellar record. I personally think the Supreme Court was absolutely right, that corporations and unions are both entitled to spend money to promulgate their viewpoints in political campaigns, as that is part of the nature of free speech in the USA where the mass media does not advertise for free. For that matter, I think Justice Roberts got Obamacare right when he labeled it a tax, which is what the totalitarian mandate policy is about. Obama is a good student of Orwell. Trump is a plain speaker.
Correct. What we have is an attempt to take a clearcut law that has been used by every Democratic President in indiscriminate fashion and say that when Trump uses it, it’s unconstitutional, or something…..This is ridiculous and very dangerous, since Trump and Mattis can go the Andrew Jackson route any time they want, and the combat military will back them to the hilt. After Benghazi, the military is done with liberals….
It’s a lot more complicated than that. Good thing actual educated people like judges will decide these things, and not the rubes who voted for Trump.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that. Good thing actual educated people like judges will decide these things, and not the rubes who voted for Trump.”
Educated or indoctrinated?
Not just a political vendetta against The Chief Twit!
Saw on ZH the other day that [so far] over 12,000 people on Twitter have called for Trump’s assassination (how about FB and other social media?). I expect that number to grow daily as Trump continues to screw up. The Secret Service said it can’t investigate all of these, so just looking at the most overt!
Hell, the CIA might do the deed themselves if Trump keeps dissing the intelligence services, along with the judicial service, along with various corporations, along with people who refuse to like him, ad infinitum….
Pence just needs to bide his time.
Got to love you tolerant progressives.
We are deplorable because we might question Obama’s birth certificate, but Trump soils a few snowflakes and assassination threats are completely understandable.
Joe, are these the progressives you have been hoping for?
Are you PROUD?
Or are these idiots justified because of how horrible Trump is….In the same way jihadism see interfering infidels? DEATH TO THE INFIDEL!!!???
madashell – progressives, as we are witnessing on a daily basis, are the least tolerant. The rest of society have put up with their shite for far too long! A bunch of whining crybabies.
“Progressive” is an Orwellian word-label created by a slick advertising agency type, and would be a good name for a Vodka. Progressives have metamorphosed into neo-Bolsheviks suckling at Lenin’s teat for inspiration. At least Castro, Che Guevara and Stalin were honest about who they were and what they believed. Progressives are retarded Leninists, still hiding in the closet. But they are more and more blossoming into overt violence. Mandated health insurance from assassination advocates, what a repellent recipe for equality. Very retro, 1917 Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
“Progressive” neo-Bolsheviks also promote homosexuality and abortion… just like the Bolsheviks who legalized both in Russia immediately after they took power. That’s why their evil ilk are called, “cultural marxists.”
Agreed
I agree OldTimer. Gorsuch said what he should have said. IF he would have said I’d support Trump no matter what he does…he would be TOAST! He ain’t stupid…!!
By his comments, he might have even won a few Dem’s over – by showing that he’s NOT being a rubber-stamp for Trump.
He’s play acting. Trump probably told him to criticize his statement to seal the appointment. He played the liberals like a fiddle on this one.
And really, this deliberate blurb of truth exposition to one of the major lying progressive rats, Blumenthal? Gorsuch is supposed to be really smart, and we know he WANTS this appointment. Do we NOT think he is in the game to win?
No way in hell he would risk his appointment if he thought Trump would react negatively, much less boot his ass. He is a big boy, been around a long time and if he is half the conservative they say he is, he knows exactly what he is doing.
That is some hilariously desperate reasoning there.
When liberals did it, they did so, for the children.
When Trump did it, he did so to harm the children.
See how easily that works?
Trump’s SCJ choice is a red herring… he is a liberal wolf in conservative sheep’s clothing. Time to shear the sheep again and select a lamb for dinner.
The threat is Pryor, who is much more conservative than Gorsuch…
Then THAT is who we need on there for the next 30 years……
BillyBob: But you’re not going to get him. Keep masturbating, though, since it seems to make you happy.
The Donald has given the democrats a Hobson’s Choice: You can be sure they know that if they don’t approve Gorsuch the next nominee will be more conservative, and then the repubs might revert to Reed’s “nuclear option”. So I think Gorsuch will be approved but the dems will grandstand their opposition for their audience.
Trump is playing everyone. First he creates a distraction by issuing a visa ban which he probably knew was going to be challenged. He then on cue blows his top. Meanwhile he makes a Supreme Court nomination. The nominee starts to smooth talk the Senators as to how the President may be yada yada and his opposition starts to melt. Oy vay! We have all seen this too many times and yet everyone falls for this shtick every time.
Democrats are NOT going to let a Bork in, at least not now. It’s going to take some real winning before many of the Republicans will grow a spine and actually stand up to the progressive media. They spent too many years bowing. It will take a while.
Did we ever hear a dissenting view on anything from any Obama appointee? To me this along with other comments by other appointees give me confidence that Trump is departing from Obama’s precedent and nominating executives who are strong enough to have views and beliefs that may differ from the president.
Almost every Trump appointee has contradicted some of Trump’s positions, like Maddis on torture. This is nothing new, which only reinforces the theme of naysayers while proving the point of Trumpsters who see Trump deliberately NOT nominating YES-MEN.
Trump likely encouraged or at least approved of him saying such. It defines the judge’s independence (and possible conformability to the left) while driving the media absolutely NUTS.
It’s all a bit unnerving to watch this….Like a man on a wire, but God it’s fun. Establishment oscillation between constipation and full on diarrhea.
Regardless of policy, this mess needed shaking up so damned bad.
Meanwhile, a GOP replacement of Obamacare might include doing away with the tax-exemption for employee health care premiums. In other words, raise taxes on employees who have company health insurance to help pay for it.
” One tempting solution for Republicans, big business worries, is to limit the exemption from income and payroll taxes that job-based coverage has enjoyed for decades. Taxing workers and employers for health benefits could raise billions to pay for a replacement plan. ”
http://khn.org/news/employers-fret-job-based-coverage-vulnerable-to-fallout-from-gop-health-overhaul/
.
Oh yes, they HAVE to get rid of employer paid healthcare to put everyone on equal footing. Then you will really see the SHTF when all the sheep find out how much their employers were paying for their healthcare. They will march to bring back Obamacare! [lol]
Employer contribution should be voluntary but irrelevant. The key is the policy should be in the employees name and transferable to any employment, including self employment, but always, ALL medical expenses either paid to provider or insurance…PRE-TAX or deductable. That is an absolute for me. Employer provided insurance premiums were always a pre tax deduction, but if a person bought their own insurance, it was after tax and not generally deductable. This is about freedom and choice and no person should feel like they must have a specific job or employer to have proper affordable insurance. Not should an employer be faced with any mandate beyond negotiating with employees in good will for whatever pay and benefits that actually benefit everyone.
The old Mish would have noted that the Democrat Senator (a partisan politician) leaked a conversation which took place behind closed doors. Even if the remarks are accurate, they are not given any context.
Is the thought that President Trump might eventually get round to doing something about the financial industry that frightening?
The spokesman for the nominee confirmed the facts. So it is not private and privileged.
So, you are believing this “reported” comment, from a Dem senator? The same Dem Senators who announced they would oppose Trumps nominations, regardless of who they are?
I would not be shocked to learn the comments were never made, or misquoted. It would be folly to get into a he said/she said argument prior to the confirmation vote. Especially given that the senators staff is “confirming” the statement.
Frankly, anyone who agrees to a “closed door” meeting with ANY democrat, is setting themself up to be misquoted and lied about and the Dems have demonstrated they are willing to do just that!
I think many people,especially the media this early in his term,under-estimate President Trump’s Political Savvy….this is an Excellent Political version of “Good Cop…Bad Cop”……lolol
It’s all about the Negotiation. Did you know Trump wrote a book about that? It amazes me that most people cannot see the negotiation Trump is doing; it’s classic. I am really looking forward to having a good negotiator heading the American Team in international negotiations for a change.
Trump is out rages and unlikable, but I do not believe he is stupid. If he resends this nomination then I will know he is stupid. I will be surprised if he resends this nomination.
Well, there you go!
Jim did you mean “resend” or “rescind”? Opposite meanings.
He had to send him twice.
The owl is not what it seems! 👁 Are they positioning for the simpathy votes? Why bother? They have the votes.
This is Trump’s worst mistake so far:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-08/rand-paul-tucker-carlson-lets-audit-fed-oh-and-wtf-neocon-iraq-war-architect-trumps-
Mish – referring back to your comment about Green Card holders being unfairly discriminated against by Trump’s ban on immigrants.
I used to be a green card holder (since relinquished because of FATCA) and as such my official status was “Resident Alien” as stated on the actual card.
According to Federal Immigration Code 1182 Sec. (f), it would seem that it would be lawful for the president to suspend lawful entry to green card holders.
” …. any class of aliens …”
“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1182
Seems that your nation has very much ceased to be a nation of laws.
Remember a few weeks after the election when something similar occurred and everybody said this shows that Trump was having problems with the transition or something was in disarray. Something like that. Anybody remember the details?
Yeah. Me neither.
No. He said what the establishment hacks want to hear.
I think Gorsuch should have said something bland like it’s “unfortunate” that Trump made his impolitic comments about a US judge but instead Gorsuch made his own impolitic comments about Trumps impolitic comments. Open mouth, insert foot.
I doubt Trump would change his choice just because of hearsay from some leftist piece of garbage. This being said I do not like Gorsuch as a comes across as just another spineless cuck like Roberts.
Gotta love the comments here…. people who can barely spell seeing grand conspiracies in Trump’s impulsive antics. Guess what guys, Occam’s razor says he really is that dumb, and all those three-deep moves you’re imagining… are just in your imagination.
Phil – gotta love the trolls too.
closed-door (klōzd′dôr′)
adj.
Not open or accessible to the public; held in privacy: a series of closed-door meetings.
“Will Trump now renounce his own pick?”
Doubt it. Quite likely someone in the confirmation team suggested he say something critical of Trump to Democrats to increase his chance of confirmation.
You know what? It’s all hearsay. For all we know, Blumenthal said those things, and if Gorsuch merely tilted his head, Dick took it as affirmation of those sentiments. Either that, or Dick is being his good old self and lying. The “fact” that it is “confirmed” by third-parties is hardly substantial evidence.