They always make it clear. Trump was saying how those women in his administration that now stand against him should be supporting him because they owe him for giving them jobs. It's gross.
I am so looking forward to this going before the ussc. trump's appointees to the court have been placed between a rock and hard place... they rule in his favor, and this quote will be blasted across the media and this court's integrity will be further tarnished. kavanaugh in particular since he was called out by name but previously ruled that no president was above the law, and also gorsuch since he previously ruled Colorado can remove candidates from the ballot.
I doubt thomas has the ethical wherewithal to recuse himself... but adding another justice caught between a rock and hard place.
After trump's lawyer's statement, not even this cowardly ussc will be able to avoid making a decision...
5-4 to protect trump... gorsuch, kavanaugh, barrett, alito, thomas protect trump, roberts, kagan, sotomayer, jackson protect the constitution and democracy.
3 Liberal judges + Roberts + Gorsuch, minimally, rule Trump is not eligible. Kavanaugh and Barrett are also possibles. We will see who say that they are strict textualists and who were just talking ****.
The majority will favor trump and Thomas wont have the decency to recuse himself, even though his wife is a maga sheep.
Thing is, Trump made those guys, but now they're made men. They don't need him anymore. Trump has nothing to entice them with nor anything to threaten them with. You could speculate that they might feel some debt, but I don't think men in the top echelons of power think that way. They are more likely to think, 'I'm a Supreme Court Justice, and what are you? A nobody!' I don't have a guess at how they will decide, but I seriously doubt any feeling of gratitude or indebtedness will be involved.
Unfortunately, they can also be influenced by outsiders since they are so on top; they don't even have an ethical standard to follow. Gifts to Clarence Thomas are examples of outsider influence. But to Trump himself directly? Nay, they don't give two f***s about him.
That's what makes me think they may interpret the 14th correctly (Trump committed an insurrection and is disqualified). The GOP donor class doesn't want him to be the nominee and knows that nominating Haley would be a slam dunk against Biden. They would get the same economic policy outcomes with her as president with none of the chaos Trump brings. If the Federalist Society has its way, and two influential lawyers there have already said Trump should be disqualified, the justices would vote to uphold the 14th Amendment and pave the way for Haley to be the nominee.
I heard an interesting point from a talking head. Section 3 prevents an insurrectionist from holding office, but it does not prevent the insurrectionist from running. Each state might be on their own determining who is and is not on the primary and general ballots. OIOW Colorado and Maine can do what they want. Other states can do what they want as well. This is a big ****ing mess. Trump might win the 2024 election, but then be prevented from serving since he is not qualified under Section 3. No clue who then be POTUS. Thank you, One Man Crime Wave!