Donald Trump and Ruth Bader Ginsburg traded public insults in the summer of 2016, and four years later Trump replaced her on the Supreme Court within weeks of her death, shifting the Court to a 6-3 conservative majority that went on to overturn Roe v. Wade. The story of Trump and RBG runs from a campaign-season feud to a 30-day confirmation fight whose consequences are still unfolding.
The 2016 Feud
In early July 2016, with Trump the presumptive Republican nominee, Ginsburg broke with judicial custom and criticized him on the record. She told the New York Times, “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president.” She called him “a faker” in a CNN interview, faulted him for not releasing his tax returns, and joked about moving to New Zealand if he won.1The Washington Post. Ginsburg Expresses Regret Over Remarks Criticizing Trump
Trump responded on Twitter on July 13, writing that Ginsburg “has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot – resign!” In a second tweet he said, “If I win the Presidency, we will swamp Justice Ginsburg with real judges and real legal opinions!”2NPR. Ginsburg Apologizes for Ill-Advised Trump Comments He separately told the Times her remarks were “highly inappropriate” and “a disgrace to the court.”3ABC News. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Bashes Donald Trump
The criticism of Ginsburg crossed party lines. Legal ethics commentators pointed out that the Supreme Court has no formal code of conduct barring political remarks. On July 14, Ginsburg issued a statement through the Court’s public information office: “On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them. Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect.” She expressed regret without apologizing directly to Trump.1The Washington Post. Ginsburg Expresses Regret Over Remarks Criticizing Trump
How Trump Reacted to Ginsburg’s Death
Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020, at age 87, after years of cancer treatment. A reporter told Trump of her death as he boarded Air Force One after a rally in Bemidji, Minnesota. “She just died? Wow. I didn’t know that,” he said. “She led an amazing life. What else can you say? She was an amazing woman. Whether you agree or not, she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life. I’m actually saddened to hear that.”4Trump White House Archives. Remarks by President Trump, Air Force One Departure
A formal White House statement that evening called her a “titan of the law” with more than 27 years of service on the Court.5The American Presidency Project. Statement on the Death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg On Fox and Friends three days later, Trump called her a “legend.”6The Guardian. Donald Trump Casts Doubt on Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dying Wish
In that same interview, Trump cast doubt on a statement Ginsburg had dictated to her granddaughter Clara Spera days before her death: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” NPR’s Nina Totenberg reported the statement the evening of September 18, noting that Ginsburg’s doctor and others in the room witnessed it.7NPR. Granddaughter Presages Battle Royale Trump told Fox and Friends: “I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, and Schumer and Pelosi. I would be more inclined to the second, OK? That came out of the wind. It sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal, or maybe Pelosi or shifty Schiff.” Pressed on his reasoning, he said it was “just too convenient.”8Politico. Trump Without Evidence Accuses Democrats of Fabricating Ginsburg’s Dying Wish CNN called the claim a “baseless conspiracy theory,” and the New York Times reported finding no online discussion questioning the wish’s authenticity before Trump’s interview. Representative Adam Schiff replied: “Mr. President, this is low. Even for you.”9The New York Times. Trump Jump-Starts Misinformation on Ginsburg’s Dying Wish
The Visit to the Casket
Ginsburg lay in repose at the Supreme Court beginning September 23, 2020, and on September 25 she became the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, her casket resting on the catafalque originally built for Abraham Lincoln.10U.S. House of Representatives. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Honored at Capitol
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited the Court on September 24. Wearing a black mask, Trump stood silently at the top of the steps and looked down at the flag-draped coffin. Members of the public gathered below booed and chanted “Vote him out!” Protesters a block away shouted “Honor her wish!” and “Respect her dying wish!” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called the reaction “appalling but certainly to be expected when you’re in the heart of the swamp.”11NPR. Honor Her Wish, Protesters Shout as Trump Pays Respects to Ginsburg
Replacing Her in 30 Days
The move to fill Ginsburg’s seat began within hours of her death. On the night of September 18, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Trump. According to McConnell’s former chief of staff Josh Holmes, McConnell told the president two things: “First, I’m going to put out a statement that says we’re going to fill the vacancy. Second, you’ve gotta nominate Amy Coney Barrett.”12PBS. On Night of Ginsburg’s Death, McConnell Pushed Trump to Nominate Amy Coney Barrett
Trump had been preparing. On September 9, nine days before Ginsburg’s death, he had released an expanded list of 20 potential Supreme Court nominees aimed at energizing conservative and evangelical voters.13SCOTUSblog. Trump Releases New List of Potential Supreme Court Nominees By September 19, Barrett had received a call from White House counsel Pat Cipollone and chief of staff Mark Meadows. On September 21 she met with Trump and Pence, and Trump offered her the nomination pending vetting. That same afternoon he told reporters that “five women are being looked at and vetted very carefully,” though the offer had already been extended.14CBS News. Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court Nomination On September 26, Trump formally nominated Barrett in a Rose Garden ceremony, saying, “This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation.”15ABC News. President Trump Nominates Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
Why 2020 Looked Different From 2016
The push to confirm Barrett collided with recent history. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, more than eight months before the election, McConnell refused to hold hearings or a vote on President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. He argued at the time that there was a “long-standing tradition of not fulfilling a nomination in the middle of a presidential year” and that “the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.” Garland waited 125 days without a hearing.16CNN. Merrick Garland Senate Republicans Timeline
Ginsburg died 46 days before the 2020 election, and McConnell reversed course. Republicans drew a new line: a Senate of the opposite party from the president should not fill an election-year vacancy. A Brookings Institution analysis called that distinction a fabrication, pointing to nine Supreme Court vacancies filled during election years in the post-Civil War era, two of them under divided government.17Brookings Institution. McConnell’s Fabricated History to Justify a 2020 Supreme Court Vote Joe Biden argued that “voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice,” echoing the Republican language from 2016.18Politico. Ginsburg RBG Dying Wish
The Confirmation Vote
Barrett’s confirmation hearings ran from October 12 through October 15, 2020. Senator Richard Blumenthal called the proceedings a “raw exercise of power”; Senator Dick Durbin called them a “denigration of the process to the point where it’s almost useless.”19NPR. Live Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court Confirmation Democrats pressed her on the Affordable Care Act, abortion, voting rights, presidential pardons, and climate change. She declined to give substantive answers on nearly all of them.20WHYY. Barrett Back on Capitol Hill for Senators’ Final Questions
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination on October 22 by a 12-10 party-line vote, with most Democratic members voting by proxy because of the pandemic.19NPR. Live Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court Confirmation The full Senate confirmed Barrett on October 26, 2020, by 52 to 48. Senator Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican voting no; every Democrat and independent voted against.21U.S. Senate. Roll Call Vote 224, 116th Congress Thirty days passed from nomination to confirmation, well under the modern average of about 54 days.22Pew Research Center. U.S. Supreme Court Confirmations
A 6-3 Court and the Fall of Roe
Barrett was Trump’s third Supreme Court appointment in a single term, a feat no president had managed since Richard Nixon. His first two, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, replaced conservative justices and left the Court’s balance roughly intact. Barrett replaced one of the Court’s most reliable liberal votes, turning a 5-4 conservative lean into a 6-3 supermajority.23VOA News. Trump’s Lasting Legacy: Conservative Supermajority on Supreme Court
The change was structural. Under the previous alignment, Chief Justice John Roberts had sometimes joined the liberal bloc, including in the ruling that blocked the Trump administration’s effort to end DACA and in a decision protecting LGBTQ workers from employment discrimination. With Barrett seated, Roberts’s vote was no longer decisive; the other five conservatives could form a majority without him.23VOA News. Trump’s Lasting Legacy: Conservative Supermajority on Supreme Court
In June 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, ending the constitutional right to abortion. All three Trump appointees joined Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion.24Supreme Court of the United States. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization During their confirmation hearings, each had described Roe in terms of precedent: Gorsuch called it “the law of the land,” Kavanaugh called it “important precedent,” and Barrett said she had “no agenda to try to overrule Casey.”25ABC News. Trump-Appointed Supreme Court Justices Previously on Roe’s Precedent
How Trump Has Talked About Her Since
In an April 2026 Fox Business interview, Trump framed Ginsburg’s refusal to retire as a mistake that benefited him. “She decided that she was going to live forever, and about two minutes after the election, she went out, and I got to appoint somebody,” he said. He added that Ginsburg “really hurt herself within the Democrat Party” because “people are very angry at her, because I got to appoint people instead of Biden.”26CNN. Donald Trump Supreme Court Justices The comments came in a conversation about whether Justice Alito might step down, a sign that the majority produced by Ginsburg’s death continues to drive judicial politics.