DeSantis Dismisses Trump Appointed Supreme Court Justices

In an apparent attempt to take a subtle swipe at former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dismissed Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett as not being “at the same level” as Justices Clarence Thomas and Justice Alito.

Governor DeSantis made the remark while appearing on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, when he was asked if he would make the pledge to appoint Supreme Court judges like “the Trump judges,” if elected president.

“Well, actually I would say we'll do better than that.  I mean I respect the three appointees he did, but not none of those three are at the same level of Justices Thomas and Justice Alito,” said Gov. DeSantis. “I think they are the gold standard and so my justices will be along the lines of Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas.”

When former President Trump first appointed Justices Coney Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, praised all three justices, calling Justice Kavanaugh “ a top-flight intellect” and said that Justice Gorsuch was in possible possession of a“Scalia-esque spine.”

“This guy is a top-flight intellect and he’s got an impeccable pedigree, and he’s churned out a lot of well-written opinions, I think it’s going to be hard to justify other than rank partisanship why you would vote against someone like this, so I think the president made a good choice.

I look to Justice Thomas as kind of the gold standard because Justice Thomas is a Constitutionalist, he’s able to articulate that, and he’s got a backbone of steel. I think it’s clear that Kavanaugh is a Constitutionalist. I think that it is clear that he can clearly articulate these key principles,” said then Rep. DeSantis of Justice Kavanaugh.

In response to the appointment of Justice Coney Barrett, Gov. DeSantis said that Trump made an “outstanding choice for the U.S. Supreme Court":

“President Trump made an outstanding choice for the U.S. Supreme Court in Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has had an exemplary legal career & been a terrific judge,” said Gov. DeSantis. “She will apply the law of the Constitution faithfully & serve as an inspiration to millions of our fellow citizens.”

And finally, in regards to Justice Gorsuch, DeSantis tweeted a full-throated endorsement of Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court.

Here is at statement DeSantis made on Twitter regarding Gorsuch:

"The selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia

on the U.S. Supreme Court represents a promising choice by President

Trump. As a judge on the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and in his

extrajudicial writing, Gorsuch has demonstrated a strong grasp of the

Constitution, exhibited an interpretive approach similar to that of Justice

Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas, and showcased top-notch writing

skills. He has impeccable academic credentials and was unanimously

confirmed by the Senate to his current position in 2007.

If you created a nominee from scratch with the goal of filling Scalia's large

shoes, such a nominee would look a lot like Neil Gorsuch.

At the same time, being strong on paper tells a lot but it doesn't tell

everything. Perhaps the most important quality for a constitutionalist Supreme

Court justice is something that Scalia demonstrated in spades:

backbone. There will be times when the proper reading of the Constitution will

diverge sharply from the conventional wisdom of D.C. elites, the legacy press

and the legal intelligentsia. Scalia never wilted in the face of intense criticism;

indeed, he reveled in it, as it was a sign that he was properly discharging his

constitutional duty.

I can't tell you whether Gorsuch possesses a Scalia-esque spine. Time will

tell. If he does, he has a chance to be a great justice and fitting heir to the Scalia legacy.”

 

DeSantis appears to have pulled his full support of Coney Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh sometime over the past few years. DeSantis said Kavanaugh lacked a “backbone” for not siding against the Biden administration health care worker COVID vaccine mandate in early January 2022

for not striking down the Biden administration’s health care worker vaccine mandate.

“Honestly, Roberts and Kavanaugh did not have a backbone on that decision. That’s just the bottom line,” DeSantis said