- President Joe Biden criticizes the US Supreme Court, raising $28 million at a fundraiser in Los Angeles.
- Trump nominated three of the six conservatives controlling the nine-member court.
- If re-elected, Biden predicts Trump will appoint two new Supreme Court nominees.
Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel started the evening by displaying a video montage that contrasted Biden’s record with that of his predecessor and current Republican challenger Donald Trump. The audience at a packed Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles cheered, with Hollywood celebrities George Clooney and Julia Roberts among the guests.
On Saturday, Biden, a Democrat who has often criticized specific decisions but refrained from directly attacking the court itself, stated that "the Supreme Court has never been as out of kilter as it is today."
Biden asserted, "The fact is that there has never been a court that is this far out of step." He highlighted that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas had suggested the court, which overturned the half-century-old federal right to abortion, should reconsider issues like in vitro fertilization and contraception.
Trump nominated three of the six conservatives who control the nine-member court. He and Biden are engaged in a closely contested rematch race for the Nov. 5 election.
If Trump is re-elected, Biden stated, he "is likely to appoint two new Supreme Court nominees."
“The idea that if he’s reelected, he’s going to appoint two more who are flying flags upside down... I think it is one of the scariest parts,” Biden said.
He referred to a recent controversy involving Justice Samuel Alito, who permitted flags associated with the movement to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss to Biden — including an upside-down American flag — to fly outside his homes in Virginia and New Jersey.
Democratic lawmakers, citing the flag displays, have called for Alito to recuse himself from a case involving Trump’s claim of presidential immunity from prosecution on federal criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 results.
Since Biden took office, the court's conservative majority has also limited affirmative action, gay rights, gun control, and environmental regulation. It has halted the president's agenda on immigration, student loans, vaccine mandates, and climate change.
Obama said “The power of the Supreme Court is determined by elections. What we’re seeing now is a byproduct of 2016” when Trump was elected. “Hopefully we have learned our lesson. Because these elections matter.”
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