In a recent NBC News Town Hall held in Miami, President Trump addressed a question from a voter regarding his decision to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court so close to the presidential election.
The voter, Adam Sugar, who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and supports Joe Biden in the current election, pointed out what he perceived as hypocrisy in the Republican Party’s stance on election-year Supreme Court nominations. He reminded the President that in 2016, Senate leadership had deemed it inappropriate to confirm a nominee during an election year, effectively stalling Merrick Garland’s nomination by President Obama.
President Trump participates in an NBC News town hall event at the Perez Art Museum Miami in Miami, Florida, on Oct. 15, 2020.
President Trump countered by stating that a president is elected for a full four-year term, echoing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s previous comments on the matter. He emphasized that the vacancy arose during his fourth year in office and that he had the right and duty to fill it.
He expressed confidence in Amy Coney Barrett’s qualifications, describing her as “outstanding” and “an absolute star.” He also asserted that the confirmation would be completed before the election, citing the Republican Party’s near-unanimous support for her nomination.
When pressed about his own comments in 2016 urging the Senate to wait for the next president to choose a Supreme Court justice, President Trump acknowledged his change in stance. He attributed this shift to the treatment he believed Justice Brett Kavanaugh received during his confirmation hearing, which he described as unfair and marked by false accusations.
President Trump speaks at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 20, 2020.
The conversation then shifted to the possibility of election-related challenges reaching the Supreme Court. When asked if he expected Amy Coney Barrett to rule in his favor, President Trump said he believed she would make an impartial decision based on her understanding of the law. He emphasized that Supreme Court justices have the independence to rule according to their conscience.
Despite this assertion of impartiality, President Trump reiterated his belief in the significance of the upcoming election, calling it “the most important election in the history of our country.” He expressed hope that any potential disputes would not escalate to the Supreme Court but maintained that if they did, Amy Coney Barrett would rule fairly.
