Trump has a long and well-documented history of insulting and attacking judges who rule against him. Here’s a summary:
Names and insults he’s used:
- Trump called Judge James Boasberg a “radical left lunatic” who was “appointed by Barack Hussein Obama,” after Boasberg blocked deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants. Al Jazeera
- Trump and his allies have called federal judges “leftist,” “radical,” “deranged,” “monsters,” and “idiots.”goodreads
- Trump referred to Judge Juan Merchan in the hush money case as a “Trump Hating Judge” and claimed Merchan “HATES ME.” He also attacked federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, calling him a “Clinton appointed Judge” who “hated President Donald J. Trump more than is humanly possible.” aol
- After the Supreme Court ruled against his tariffs, Trump called the six justices who ruled against him “real slimeballs” and said their rulings were “an embarrassment to their families.” Roll Call
- He has also labeled judges as “Obama judges” and attacked the Ninth Circuit, saying “that’s not law.” Brennan Center for Justice
Broader context:
- Trump called for the impeachment of Judge Boasberg, prompting Chief Justice John Roberts to rebuke the idea, stating that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.” Al Jazeera
- A federal judge criticized the Trump administration’s “concerted effort” to “smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it,” noting officials’ use of terms like “rogue” and “activists” to describe judges. Bloomberg Law
The pattern spans both his first and second terms and applies to judges at every level, from federal district courts up to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s approach breaks with 200+ years of presidential norms…and it undermines our constitutional judicial process and it is dangerous.
He is not alone.
In his 2024 annual report on the judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts said threats against judges had tripled. In the previous five years. U.S. marshals said they investigated more than 1,000 serious threats against federal judges. President Trump hasn’t helped with personal attacks on the Justices, calling them an “embarrassment to their families” after the Court’s 6-3 ruling that struck down his emergency tariffs.
Progressives are currently attacking Justice Alito because his son works at the Treasury Department. Rep. Mike Levin (D., Calif.) posted on social media that “Samuel Alito’s son has worked as a lawyer inside Trump’s Treasury Department since early last year. The administration hid it . . . the public was never told.”
Never told? Why should the public care where the children of Justices work, unless it bears on a case they might hear? Source: WSJ 6-8-26
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