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A couple of weeks ago, as Donald Trump made his way out of the U.S. House chamber following an address to Congress, the president stopped to shake hands with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. A microphone picked up a brief comment the Republican made to the jurist.
“Thank you again,” Trump said as he patted Roberts on the back. “I won’t forget it.” The exchange prompted immediate speculation that the president might’ve been expressing his gratitude for the high court’s ruling in Trump v. United States — the immunity case in which six Republican-appointed justices effectively elevated to the presidency above the law. (The president insisted his comments were related to the chief justice swearing him in.)
But if Trump saw Roberts as an ally at the time, those attitudes are probably different now.
The president crossed a new line on Tuesday morning, calling for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg — the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, D.C. — because of his handling of an Alien Enemies Act case. There’s no evidence that the jurist committed high crimes, but Boasberg ruled in a way that Trump didn’t like — and as far as the president is apparently concerned, that’s an impeachable offense.
Though the case hasn’t been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Roberts issued a highly unusual statement soon after that read, “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The chief justice didn’t reference Trump by name, but given the context, he didn’t have to.
What might not be obvious, however, is that this wasn’t the first time Roberts sent a rhetorical shot across the president’s bow.
In 2018, Trump derided a ruling from a jurist the Republican described as “an Obama judge.” In response to a question from The Associated Press, the chief justice took issue with the comment.
“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them,” Roberts said. On the day before Thanksgiving, he concluded, “The independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
More recently, as 2024 came to an end and attention shifted to Trump’s second inaugural, Roberts issued a public warning about threats to the judicial system.
In an annual year-end report, the chief justice wrote, “Within the past few years, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings. These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected.”
Again, Roberts didn’t call out anyone by name, though the only prominent political voices who’ve made comments along these lines have offices in the Trump West Wing.
If recent history is any guide, Trump will likely soon start whining about the chief justice by way of his social media platform. At least we’ll know why.