On Thursday, CNN’s Laura Coates mocked Supreme Court justices by declaring, “at the end of the day, if I hold my breath long enough and bite my tongue long enough, you'll call me justice.” Meanwhile, former Obama White House senior director Nayyera Haq and GOP Rep. Joe Walsh made it evident that they believe the Supreme Court could use some upgrades.
Coates began by playing a clip of First Lady Jill Biden on The View. In the clip, Biden started out by warning, “Think of the Supreme Court. For God's sake, talk about things getting worse! Can you imagine if we put any more Republicans on the Supreme Court?”
As the clip continued, Jill Biden confidently stated that, “We will lose all of our rights! We’re talking about women’s rights, gay rights” if Donald Trump gets reelected.
Afterward, Coates asked, “Should they be leaning into this messaging more about the Supreme Court composition?”
Walsh agreed with what Biden had to say. After stating that he is a “political conservative,” he noted that “It's perfectly okay to use the Supreme Court to your political advantage.”
Although Walsh supported her statements, he continued, “I just worry. I don't want anyone to question the legitimacy of the Court,” but as this interview would prove, people were already questioning the legitimacy of the justices.
Walsh seemed to be unsure of whether or not he should be in favor of what Biden stated. He refers to what she said as “perfectly okay” but then acknowledges that he worries about the perspective people will have in regards to the Supreme Court. Right after he shared his concern, he stated, “But yeah, call them out politically all day long.”
While Walsh tried to portray himself as the reasonable conservative Haq was quick to illustrate that, for the left, the Court’s legitimacy is directly tied to its rulings, “the Court is questioning its own legitimacy and providing fodder for these conversations by acting and behaving in unethical ways.”
While Haq claims that the Court is questioning its own legitimacy, it is evident that the media, rather than the justices themselves, is questioning the court's legitimacy.
Haq called the lifetime appointment of justices “unique in the modern landscape.” She also tried to argue we should reconsider this because of “how long people are living these days” as if her problem with conservative justices is their age and not their rulings.
Click "Expand" to view the transcripts:
CNN Laura Coates Live
5/29/24
11:46:58-11:49:12(…)
LAURA COATES: And, of course, we talk about the Supreme Court more broadly. Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, this was a very big election issue. There were many Republicans who said they're going to compartmentalize their feelings about Donald Trump and their visceral reactions to him personally because of the promise of being able to overturn Roe v. Wade.
And really, it remains a campaign issue, the composition of the court and who might decide who's on it. Just ask the former leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell. But the first lady, Jill Biden, was talking about how the election could actually impact the court. Listen to this.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: JILL BIDEN: “WE WILL LOSE” RIGHTS IF TRUMP APPOINTS ANOTHER JUSTICE]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JILL BIDEN: Think of the Supreme Court. For God's sake, talk about things getting worse! Can you imagine if we put any more Republicans on the Supreme Court?
SUNNY HOSTIN. No, no.
BIDEN: No!
JOY BEHAR: We’re finished.
BIDEN: We will lose all of our rights! So, we're talking about women's rights, gay rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Should they be leaning into this messaging more about the Supreme Court composition?
JOE WALSH (FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE): Yes, and I say this as a political conservative. It's perfectly okay to use the Supreme Court to your political advantage. I just worry. I don't want anyone to question the legitimacy of the court.
But yeah, call them out politically all day long.
NAYYERA HAQ (FORMER WHITEHOUSE SENIOR DIRECTOR): That's part of the challenge, right? That the court is questioning its own legitimacy and providing fodder for these conversations by acting and behaving in unethical ways, by making decisions that go contrary to what they said they would do in their confirmation hearings. That's part of the challenge of there being no check on the Supreme Court.
And listen, we didn't start with the Constitution that had nine Supreme Court justices. The court has been expanded. And it will be interesting to see if there is another Biden term, how they address this challenge of the imbalance in the court.
WALSH: We've got one side, Laura, that has been talking about rigged elections. I don't want the Democrats to be the party that talks about rigged rulings, but go after them politically.
HAQ: The challenge we have with the Supreme Court is they're not elected at the end of the day.
WALSH: Yeah.
HAQ: And that lifetime appointment is something very unique in the modern landscape, considering how long people are living these days.
COATES: And they are very savvy about how to answer the questions to get at the end of the day, if I hold my breath long enough and bite my tongue long enough, you'll call me justice.
