Trump Says the U.S. Is ‘Stupid’ While Ranting About Birthright Citizenship
The president, who posted on Truth Social that we're all "SUCKERS," seems to think he understands the United States Constitution better than the Supreme Court.
Photo: Getty Images Politics
On Inauguration Day, Donald Trump performatively signed a bunch of executive orders, most of which have since been challenged by courts across the country. Among them was his pledge to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.
Specifically, Trump’s order said this would no longer apply to babies born after February 19, which would have ended a more than 150-year-old Supreme Court precedent—but three federal appeals courts quickly issued nationwide injunctions to block it. Then, in March, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court for an emergency intervention to limit the power of the lower courts. (According to the Associated Press, judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since January.) On Thursday, the court heard oral arguments, marking the fourth time since 1971 that the court agreed to take on an emergency request.
Technically, the court isn’t ruling on whether ending birthright citizenship is unconstitutional; they’re ruling on whether lower courts can issue injunctions that apply nationwide. But, of course, if they rule that lower courts can’t issue a nationwide injunction, that could effectively give Trump permission to end birthright citizenship. Politico wrote of this case-within-a-case that it’s “perhaps the most high-profile case of the year, but it’s not clear what exactly the court will be deciding.”
The administration’s main argument for ending birthright citizenship is that it was a slavery-era amendment that shouldn’t apply to immigrants. (The NRA must be shaking.) Trump, of course, hopped on Truth Social ahead of arguments Thursday morning to give his (very dumb) take.