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Donald Trump bashed federal judges as "monsters" who want the United States "to go to hell" in an all-caps Memorial Day message published on Truth Social.
In an attack focused on illegal immigration, the president accused U.S. judges suffering from "an ideology that is sick" of having been "on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world" in the country over the last four years.
Why It Matters
Trump has a long history of criticizing judges who oppose him, accusing them of being driven by political ideology whenever they show disapproval of his actions or policies. These clashes have continued and even escalated after his return to the White House, as several judges have attempted to block some of the Trump administration's most controversial measures, including the mass deportation of Venezuelan migrants out of the U.S. and into El Salvador prisons.
In March, the president called for Judge James Boesberg, who had ordered a halt of the Trump administration's deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members, to be impeached, accusing him of being on the "radical left." While the calls led to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issuing a rare rebuke of Trump's statement, the president appears nowhere near wanting to tone down his rhetoric against U.S. judges.
Donald Trump published a now-deleted post on Truth Social early on Monday disparaging federal judges. Truth Social
What To Know
Writing on Truth Social, Trump wished a "happy Memorial Day to all," including the "scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical Left minds, who allowed 21,000,000 people to illegally enter our country, many of them being criminals and the mentally insane, through an open border."
He added that U.S. judges were "on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world, in our country so they can rob, murder, and rape again—all protected by these USA hating judges who suffer from an ideology that is sick, and very dangerous for our country."
The president also said that he hoped the U.S.
Supreme Court and "compassionate judges throughout the land" would save the country from the "decisions of the monsters who want our country to go to hell."
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington last week. Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Donald Trump
Trump's post was edited and reposted numerous times on Monday morning. The version of the post now available on his profile closes with a positive note: "BUT FEAR NOT, WE HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS OVER THE LAST 4 MONTHS, AND AMERICA WILL SOON BE SAFE AND GREAT AGAIN! AGAIN, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
What People Are Saying
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, of the Trump administration-ordered deportations: "Those are the terrorists that President Trump is finding and apprehending that our Democrat judges and Democrat activists are trying to keep on U.S. soil."
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in March that Judge Boesberg was "meddling in our government," adding: "And the question should be, why is the judge trying to protect terrorists who invaded our country over American citizens?"
Conservative former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig told MSNBC's Ali Velshi this month: "No, the judges are not deranged,
Pam Bondi. They are simply enforcing their oath to the Constitution of the United States. The same oath that you, Madam Attorney General, took yourself.
"I don't know where this ends, Ali, but it appears that, in this moment, the president intends to prosecute this war against the federal judiciary and the rule of law to its catastrophic end."
What Happens Next
Trump's standoff with the judiciary is ongoing, but the president has suffered a series of defeats over recent weeks. This month, the Supreme Court found that the president had violated the due process rights of Venezuelan migrants by trying to deport them quickly to El Salvador using the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime authority granted to the U.S. head of state.
"Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster," the court wrote.
But Trump has appeared unwilling to take this as a setback. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote following the Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling: "THE SUPREME COURT WON'T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!"
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