Washington, D.C., January 30, 2018 – Following tonight’s State of the Union address by President Trump, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:
“In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Trump again pointed to his judicial appointments, including the Supreme Court appointment of Neil Gorsuch, as a sign of success. But this is no success story. Trump is only profiting from an abuse of power by Senate Republicans, who stonewalled Obama judicial nominees to keep seats open and are now rushing and rubber-stamping extreme and unqualified nominees almost every week. The reality is that the serious flaws in this system are starting to show and the public is taking notice. In spite of what he tried to tell us tonight, most Americans don’t trust Donald Trump to make good judicial appointments. And his assaults on so many of our rights and freedoms are motivating more and more people to speak up and get involved in defending our democracy.”
A new poll conducted by Hart Research Associates for Alliance for Justice finds that 61% of respondents believe that President Trump is likely to appoint federal judges who will “favor the wealthy and powerful over everyday people,” rather than judges who will “protect the rights of all people equally.” In addition, the poll finds that only 41 percent have confidence in President Trump to nominate “good federal judges and Supreme Court justices.”
Read AFJ’s report on Trump’s impacts on justice in his first year, here.