President Donald Trump demanded to be seated directly in front of the Supreme Court justices during oral arguments in his birthright citizenship case, only to fidget throughout the hearing.
Trump made history Wednesday by being the first U.S. president to attend Supreme Court oral arguments, with critics interpreting his presence as a sign that he was trying to intimidate the justices into ruling in his favor.
Originally, he was seated at the very end of the first row, but then Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the court’s security that the president wanted to be seated more centrally, ACLU executive director Anthory Romero told MS NOW host Jonathan Lemire on Thursday.
“Then it was clear that he was endeavoring to put his thumb on the scale,” said Romero, who was seated about 6 feet behind Trump and had the president directly in his line of vision. “He was endeavoring to glower at the justices to kind of intimidate them, almost defy them to rule against him.”
Romero said he could see Trump fidgeting in his chair while several of his own handpicked justices tore into the case being made by Solicitor General John Sauer.
Then the ACLU’s legal director, Cecilia Wang, made her opening statement and began to answer the justices’ questions.
At that point, “You could see he started getting restless,” Romero said. “His shoulders slumped a little bit.”
About 10 or 15 minutes into Wang’s arguments, the president got up and left, Romero added. Although the courtroom got quiet when the president entered, the justices did not mention him being there, and they “did not miss a beat” when he walked out.
The president seemed to be trying to create some “drama” or “spectacle,” but the court didn’t take the bait, according to Romero.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The oral arguments focused on the legality of an executive order the president signed last year that purported to limit birthright citizenship, despite the 14th Amendment to the Constitution explicitly saying that “all people born… in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are automatically conferred citizenship.
The president appeared bored in the courtroom and repeatedly closed his eyes while Sauer made his arguments, according to several news reports.
Immediately after the hearing, Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court justices during a White House Easter luncheon.
First thing Thursday morning, he raged against the “Kangaroo Court!!!” on his Truth Social platform.
