One argument for Trump was that he’d promote Supreme Court choices that would do a better job protecting our liberties (compared to the sort of people that Hillary would have nominated.) That remains to be seen. But one thing is clear, if Trump’s Supreme Court picks are to protect our freedom, they will have to rule against Trump on many, many issues. Here’s a list of items from just the past two days:
1. Trump proposes jailing flag burners. (Yes, Hillary also voted for the idea, but probably had no interest in advocating it as president.)
2. Trump made it very clear that business leaders in America are no longer free to locate production facilities in places that make the most sense from an efficiency perspective. He will use the power of the presidency to punish those who defy him.
3. Trump will make the already Orwellian NSA even worse:
The FBI, National Security Agency and CIA are likely to gain expanded surveillance powers under President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, a prospect that has privacy advocates and some lawmakers trying to mobilize opposition.
Trump’s first two choices to head law enforcement and intelligence agencies — Republican Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general and Republican Representative Mike Pompeo for director of the Central Intelligence Agency — are leading advocates for domestic government spying at levels not seen since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
I don’t want to oversell the importance of these three issues—the flag comments were probably just red meat for his base, and the other two items merely worsen the current governmental overreach in those areas. But these are just a small indication of what will come next. There will be dozens more such repressive initiatives, as Trump has never shown the slightest interest in classical liberal ideas, either before or during his campaign.
Will Trump nominate Supreme Court justices that will rule against him on a wide variety of issues? I doubt it.