Trump Spreads Disinformation About Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Dying Wish
Just days before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death last Friday, she dictated a note to her granddaughter saying her “most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” Several Republicans, eager to fill her now-vacant seat, dismissed Ginsburg’s request the same night as her death, and on Monday US President Donald Trump was trying to allege that the justice never made the request at all.
During a Fox News interview, Trump baselessly claimed Ginsburg’s request, first reported by NPR, was actually written by Democratic politicians. In reality, Ginsburg herself relayed the statement to her granddaughter, Clara Spera, NPR reported.
“I don’t know that she said that. Or was that written out by Adam Schiff, and Schumer, and Pelosi?” Trump asked. “That came out of the wind. It sounds so beautiful but that sounds like a Schumer deal,” he added. There is no evidence to support Trump’s accusation that California representative Adam Schiff, senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer or house speaker Nancy Pelosi were involved in ghostwriting a posthumous plea from a deceased Supreme Court justice.
Trump on RBG's reported dying wish that next pres fills her seat: "I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi. I would be more inclined to the second ... But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff." pic.twitter.com/zE979kK2Q3
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2020
In a response on Twitter, Schiff denounced Trump’s conspiracy theory.
“Mr. President, this is low. Even for you,” Schiff wrote, adding, however, he will “fight like hell” to honour Ginsburg’s request.
“No confirmation before inauguration,” Schiff wrote.
Trump’s choice to lie about Ginsburg’s dying wish illustrates how he intends to use the Supreme Court vacancy as a galvanising force for Republicans ahead of reelection. Already, Trump has...
