Donald Trump Defends Amy Coney Barrett After MAGA Attacks

President Donald Trump has defended Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett after she faced attacks from his MAGA supporters.

Newsweek has contacted the Supreme Court for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Barrett, one of three conservative Supreme Court justices nominated to the bench by Trump, has come under criticism from Trump’s staunch supporters after she voted against the president’s attempt to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid. That and other rulings suggest she is not always a guaranteed right-wing vote even as the nation’s highest court has the potential to have a conservative majority, currently at 6-3, for decades.

What to Know

Trump defended Barrett while speaking to reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One, calling her a “very good” and “smart” woman. He also said he was not aware of recent attacks against her.

Barrett joined Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson—in a 5-4 vote to uphold a lower court ruling that the Trump administration must release the foreign aid because it was tied to existing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts.

It was the second time that the Supreme Court has gone against Trump during his second term. In February, the court declined to grant Trump’s request to immediately fire the head of the Office of Special Counsel.

Following the foreign aid ruling, high-profile MAGA figures accused Barrett of being “evil” and a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) judge. DEI initiatives have regularly been criticized by Trump and other Republicans.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the $2 billion in foreign aid, which had been blocked by an executive order signed by Trump on January 20.

The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s appeal in a 5-4 decision on March 5. Justice Samuel Alito, one of four conservative dissenters, said he was “stunned” by the majority ruling.

In January, Barrett sided with the court’s Democratic-appointed justices in voting against dismissing Trump’s hush money sentencing, rejecting claims that it would hinder his preparations to return to office.

While Barrett was one of six justices who voted to grant Trump sweeping presidential immunity, she authored a concurring opinion expressing some reservations about the majority’s ruling. Barrett wrote that Roberts’ opinion—that a president’s official acts cannot be presented to a jury as evidence of a crime—went too far.

“A president facing prosecution may challenge the constitutionality of a criminal statute as applied to official acts alleged in the indictment,” she wrote. “If that challenge fails, however, he must stand trial.”

According to 2024 analysis by the Empirical SCOTUS website, Barrett voted with Alito and Clarence Thomas —considered to be the Supreme Court’s two most conservative justices—81 percent of the time in 2023.

Barrett voted with Sotomayor, the court’s most senior liberal justice, 69 percent of the time.

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Sunday: “She [Barrett] is a very good woman. She’s very smart. And I don’t know about people attacking her, I really don’t know. I think she’s a very good woman. She’s very smart.”

Mike Cernovich, a prominent MAGA influencer, writing on X, formerly Twitter, on March 5: “She is evil, chosen solely because she checked identity politics boxes. Another DEI hire. It always ends badly.”

Conservative radio show host and presenter Mark Levin in a March 5 X post: “Roberts and Barrett are political justices. Lightweights. Barrett deceived people into thinking she was a reliable constitutionalist. The power has gone to her head. It happens with frightening regularity the last half century.”

Glenn Kirschner, former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, in a March 5 video on the foreign aid ruling: “Yes, this is just one Supreme Court ruling, but it is some indication that the Supreme Court—at least five justices—won’t roll over, won’t lay down, won’t give in to Donald Trump’s dictatorial aspirations. Because today, the Supreme Court acted as a legitimate coequal branch of government, a legitimate check on executive branch overreach.”

Justice Samuel Alito, in a written dissent to the foreign aid ruling: “Does a single district court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) $2 billion in taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”

What Happens Next

Judge Ali gave the Trump administration a Monday deadline to pay several nonprofit groups and businesses that were affected by the shutdown of foreign aid funding.