Monday, June 02, 2025

Republicans, who ya got? MAGA or Federalist Society?

 This is a fascinating blow up -- Trump takes on the Federalist Society and Leonard Leo, calling him a sleazebag. 

From Politico:

It was a striking characterization of Leo, who played a key role in working with Trump to shape the conservative Supreme Court.

“He openly brags how he controls Judges, and even Justices of the United States Supreme Court — I hope that is not so, and don’t believe it is!,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s attack came after the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday struck down his tariffs, a massive blow to the primary pillar of the administration’s economic agenda. The ruling was temporarily stayed by an appellate court on Thursday. One of the judges on the three-person panel that blocked the tariffs is Timothy Reif, who was appointed by Trump in his first term.

The blame, Trump said, lay with the Federalist Society.

“I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they

 gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,” he wrote. “This is something that cannot be forgotten!”

Leo, in a brief statement in response, did not criticize the president.

"I'm very grateful for President Trump transforming the Federal Courts, and it was a privilege being involved," Leo said. "There's more work to be done, for sure, but the Federal Judiciary is better than it's ever been in modern history, and that will be President Trump's most important legacy."

Trump's relationship with the activist is known to have grown strained over Trump's disappointment that the three conservative justices he appointed to the court on Leo's advice did not intervene to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election.

 So my Republican friends, who are you siding with?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL, Trump is not a republican. Trump is not a conservative. Trump is a trumpist. He will burn, bury, or destroy anyone or anything that doesn't fall in line with his wishes and his interests. Now, it just happens to be the Federalist Society's turn. This is why, when my fellow party members lost their minds in 2016, I changed my party registration of 20 years from republican to no-party-affiliation.

Anonymous said...

Agree with much of 8:56. And to say Leonard Leo hates America—as Trump said—is moronic. Trump has some good ideas but is too brain dead to know how to successfully implement them. He was elected because he faced an awful candidate in 2016, lost to a straw man in 2020, and then essentially ran unopposed in 2024. Given a meaningful choice who truly represented the people he would have had no chance.

Leonard Leo believes in America and believes in the Constitution. Even if you don’t like him, to say otherwise is simply false.

Anonymous said...

Now let's see how many so-called conservative lawyers who want to be judges or want a job with the Trump administration will bail from, or never join, the Federalist Society.

Anonymous said...

Now let's see how many so-called conservative lawyers who want to be judges or want a job in the Trump administration will bail from, or never join, the Federalist Society.

Rumpole said...

It’s the scorpion and the frog and the conservatives and federalist society yahoos were willing to look the other way and swallow their ideals and carry his water so long as they got their judicial nominees. But then the scorpion stung the frog because that is what scorpions do and now the conservatives and the federalists have to confront their startling lack of courage and abandonment of their principles and face the Frankenstein they created. I’d write more but I’m out of parables, slogans, and aphorisms for the moment.

Anonymous said...

💯

Anonymous said...

Except assuming your argument, the scorpion is gone in 2028 but the frogs live on for life.

Anonymous said...

Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris would have been excellent presidents. Trump has no good ideas, only axes to grind.

Rumpole said...

Amphibians rule- except when giving a ride to a scopion

Anonymous said...

@ 10:08 - "essentially ran unopposed in 2024"?? LOL. The 2024 election was a lot of things, but a landslide it was not.

Republicans--especially of the MAGA variety--have this strange belief that they're much more numerous than they really are. For the MAGA ones, I assume it's because they can't do basic math. For the others, it's a false sense brought on by rampant gerrymandering.

Anonymous said...

@10:08. Hogwash. Trump didn’t even break 50% in 2024, won by 2M—even with the gerrymandering wind at his (bloated) backside.

Anonymous said...

All a bunch of sycophants... lately... bring back the Lincoln Republicans.

Anonymous said...

Whew .. those FS folks we saw yesterday!! 3 hours we will never get back. Can we get some qualified applicants in the SD of FL?? They'd eat their own young for a job... Unqualified? WHAT????

Anonymous said...

You will not be able to stay home, brother
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag
And skip out for beer during commercials, because
The revolution will not be televised