President Donald Trump on Monday questioned whether Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg actually wished that a new president would fill her seat on the nation’s highest court.
The president, without evidence, floated the idea that Ginsburg’s reported wish was written by Democratic lawmakers like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during an appearance on Fox & Friends.
Ginsburg, a champion of women’s rights, died on Friday. She was 87.
Ginsburg dictated the statement to her granddaughter days before her death, according to NPR, saying that her “most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
That hasn’t stopped Republicans and Trump from moving forward to nominate and hold hearings for a new justice, despite being called out for hypocrisy given what they did when former President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland in his final term in office.
The president on Monday baselessly said he didn’t know that Ginsburg’s wish was actually said by her. Instead, the president said that it was written by Democratic lawmakers.
“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. That came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal, or maybe a Pelosi, or Schifty Schiff. So that came out of the wind. So let’s see. Maybe she did and maybe she didn’t.”
Trump’s statement came as Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt noted that the statement was made to Ginsburg’s granddaughter, but added “allegedly” beforehand.