Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apologized Thursday for recent remarks she made denouncing presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them,” Justice Ginsburg said in a statement, the Washington Examiner reported. “Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future, I will be more circumspect.”
Justice Ginsburg’s apology comes a day after doubling down on her original comments in which she quipped about moving to New Zealand if the New York businessman were to win the presidency.
“I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” Justice Ginsburg told The New York Times last week. “For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.”
“He is a faker,” CNN quoted the justice as saying on Wednesday, adding to her original criticism of Mr. Trump. “He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. … How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.”
Justice Ginsburg was roundly criticized across the political spectrum for her recent comments. The liberal New York Times editorial board, for example, criticized the jurist in Wednesday’s print edition.
“There is no legal requirement that Supreme Court justices refrain from commenting on a presidential campaign. But Justice Ginsburg’s comments show why their tradition has been to keep silent,” The Times editorial board said.
“In this election cycle in particular, the potential of a new president to affect the balance of the court has taken on great importance, with the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. As Justice Ginsburg pointed out, other justices are nearing an age when retirement would not be surprising. That makes it vital that the court remain outside the presidential process.”
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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