Crowds boo Donald and Melania Trump as the first couple pay their respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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President Donald Trump said he couldn’t hear the protesters who booed him and first lady Melania Trump when they paid their respects to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court on Thursday.

A crowd yelled ‘Honor her wish’ and ‘Vote him out’ as the first couple stood at the top of the steps at Ginsburg’s flag-draped coffin, their heads bowed and faces covered by masks.

Trump said he could hear a ‘sound’ but that was all. 

‘I think it was just a political chant. We could hardly hear it,’ he told reporters at the White House after his visit. ‘Somebody said there was chanting. They were right next to the media. We could hardly hear too much. We could hear a sound but it wasn’t very much.  

It’s rare for President Trump to hear any criticism or booing in his public appearances. His campaign rallies and events are typically filled with cheering supporters who offer constant applause and adoration. The rare protester is quickly escorted out.

Thousands of mourners have lined up at the Supreme Court to pay tribute to the late justice, who became a cultural icon and feminist hero. Many of them supported Ginsburg’s liberal philosophy, putting them in direct opposition to the president.

‘Honor her wish,’ was in reference to Ginsburg’s dying request that the winner of the November presidential election appoint her successor.

But Trump has vowed to move forward in the confirmation process and will name his replacement on Saturday at the White House. He is expected to name a conservative to fill the liberal judge’s place on the bench.

The first couple arrived for their short visit at the back of the Supreme Court building and walked through it and out its front door to view Ginsburg’s coffin. That could have been for security reasons given the heavy crowds and lines of people in front of the court.  

The Trumps spent 11 minutes at the court before returning to the White House. 

As the motorcade returned to the White House, there were also chants of ‘Breonna Taylor’ from some spectators standing on the sidewalk, according to an Associated Press reporter traveling with the president. Protests have sprung up after there was no Kentucky officer charged in the death of Taylor, who was in botched police raid on her apartment.

Upon his return to the executive mansion, President Trump was spotted on the colonnade outside of the Oval Office, speaking with his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien – all of whom accompanied him to the Supreme Court. 

The White House called the boos and chants ‘appalling’ and ‘disrespectful.’ 

‘Everybody has a first amendment in this country, but I thought it was appalling and disrespectful thing to do as the president honored Justice Ginsburg,’ White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at her briefing Thursday.

She said, however, it was ‘certainly to be expected when you’re part of the swamp.’ 

‘I travel with the president all across the country. And everywhere we go, the streets are lined with support like I don’t think any other president has had previously,’ she added.

Trump has cast doubt on Ginsburg’s wish, alleging it was actually written by a Democrat. 

He accused his political foes – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi or House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff – as being behind the justice’s last request – an allegation that has no proof nor did Trump offer any.

‘I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, Schumer and Pelosi,’ Trump said during an interview on ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday.

‘I would be more inclined to the second, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. So that that came out of the wind. Let’s see. I mean, maybe she did and maybe she didn’t,’ he added.

Ginsburg dedicated a message to her granddaughter Clara Spera in her dying days.

‘My most fervent wish is that I I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,’ she said. 

Later Thursday, in a separate visit, Tiffany Trump paid her respects to Ginsburg. The president’s youngest daughter graduated from Georgetown Law in May 2020. 

She tweeted her appreciation for Ginsburg after the justice died on Friday, noting she attended a lecture the judge gave at Georgetown in 2017.

Thank you, Justice Ginsburg for being a trailblazer for women in the legal field, a pioneer for women and gender equality, and for showing that patriotism hinges not on agreement, but on the unwavering commitment to persevere, to listen, to learn, and to develop together,’ Tiffany wrote. 

While Ginsburg is honored in the court where she made history, the political battle to replace her is taking place across the street in the U.S. Capitol building. 

Democrats have vowed to do what they can to hold off President Trump’s nomination, arguing the winner of the November election should make the selection. They point both to Ginsburg’s dying wish and to 2016 – the year Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell held off the confirmation process on then President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, stating he would wait and see which party won the election.

But Democrats’ odds are slim given Republicans have lined up behind the president and are preparing to move forward with confirmation hearings. They argue the situation is different compared to 2016 since one party controls both the Senate and White House this year.

Thursday, meanwhile, marks the second day of public viewing of Ginsburg’s remains. 

Her flag-draped casket arrived at the Supreme Court Wednesday morning, where she was honored with a small memorial ceremony before her coffin was placed atop the front steps for two days of public viewing. 

Former President Bill Clinton, who appointed Ginsburg to the high court in 1993, visited her on Wednesday along with Hillary Clinton. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen paid their respects on Wednesday evening. Several members of Congress also came by the Supreme Court.  

‘Ruth is gone and we grieve,’ Chief Justice John Roberts said in his eulogy during Wednesday’s memorial service. ‘Of course, she will live on in what she did to improve the law and the lives of all of us.’

Ahead of Ginsburg’s arrival, 120 of her former law clerks lined up in rows down the Supreme Court’s stairs, dressed in black and wearing black face coverings in an image of solemn mourning.

The clerks formed an honor guard as her remains arrived at the building where she served, standing in silence as her coffin was carried up the steps and into the court.

Roberts, in his moving tribute, described Ginsburg’s affect on American law and her inspiration to women, calling her a ‘rock star.’

‘It has been said that Ruth wanted to be an opera virtuoso, but became a rock star instead. But she chose the law, subjected to discrimination in law school and the job market because she was a woman, Ruth would grow to become the leading advocate fighting such discrimination in court. She found her stage right behind me in our courtroom,’ he said.

‘There she won famous victories that helped move our nation closer to equal justice under law, to the extent that women are now a majority in law schools, not simply a handful. Later she became a star on the bench where she sat for 27 years. Dissenting opinions will steer the court for decades. They are written with the unaffected case of precision,’ he noted. 

‘Her voice in court and in our conference room was soft, but when she spoke, people listened. Among the words that best describe Ruth, tough, brave, a fighter, a winner, but also thoughtful, careful, compassionate, honest. When it came to opera, insightful, passionate. When it came to sports, clueless,’ he added as people chuckled.

He also noted Ginsburg had friends across the political aisle, highlight at trip she took to India with Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative member of the court who died in 2016, and recalled them riding an elephant together.

‘In the photograph, she’s riding with a dear friend, a friend with totally divergent views,’ Roberts said. ‘There’s no indication in the photo that either was poised to push the other off.’

A 2016 portrait of Ginsburg by artist Constance P. Beaty was on display during the brief ceremony.

‘Today we stand in mourning of the American hero, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,’ the Rabbi Lauren Holtzbatt said.

Holtzbatt paid tribute to Ginsburg’s status as an American feminist icon.

‘To be born into the world that does not see you, that does not believe in your potential, that does not give you a path for opportunity, or a clear path for education and despite this, to be able to see beyond the world you are in, to imagine that something can be different. That is the job of a prophet. And it is the rare prophet who not only imagines a new world, but also makes that new world a reality in her lifetime. This was the brilliance and vision of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,’ she said.

She touted Ginsburg as a ‘role model to women and girls of all ages, who now know that no office is out of reach for their dreams: whether that is to serve in the highest court of our land or closer to home.’

The entrance to the courtroom, along with Ginsburg’s chair and place on the bench next to Roberts, have been draped in black, a longstanding court custom. 

Her coffin rested on a Lincoln catafalque, on loan from Congress, that once held President Abraham Lincoln’s remains.  

Ginsburg also will become the first woman to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol when her coffin lies in Statutory Hall on Friday. She will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery next week, where her husband Marty Ginsburg lies in rest. 

Since her death on Friday from colon cancer, thousands laid flowers, notes, candles and stuffed animals on the court’s step to pay homage to a woman who found fame late in life, known as the ‘Notorious RBG’ for her fiery dissents. 

Court workers removed them to make way for her casket’s arrival on Wednesday. 

Born in Brooklyn, she was one of the few women in her class at Harvard Law. Transferring to Columbia Law when her husband took a job in New York, she graduated first in her class. She argued before the Supreme Court on gender and equity issues before then-President Bill Clinton appointed her to the bench in 1993.

She became vocal force with her dissents and a cultural icon with her white lace collar on her black robe and her over sized glasses.  

Judge Amy Coney Barrett is reported to be at the top of his short list with Judge Barbara Lagoa in second. Trump has vowed to pick a woman to replace Ginsburg, a feminist icon and hero to liberals. 

Whomever he picks, the president is expected to shift the court to the right with his decision. 

Saturday’s announcement will come shortly before the president leaves for Pennsylvania, where he will hold a rally in Middletown in the crucial 2020 battleground state.

Given the close proximity between the election and the nomination process, the Supreme Court is highly likely to become a political hot potato in the presidential race. 

President Trump said Wednesday the court needs its full complement of nine justices because they may have to decide the winner of the 2020 presidential contest. 

Trump repeated his many complaints and concerns about mail-in ballots – at least 80 million Americans are expected to use them instead of waiting in line on Election Day because of the coronavirus – and said the issue will likely end up in the high court. 

‘I think it’s better if you go before the election because I think the scam the Democrats are pulling, this scam will be before the United States Supreme Court,’ Trump said at the White House.

He said a tie situation of 4-to-4 justices would not ideal although if that should be the scenario then the lower court ruling would stand.

‘I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation,’ Trump said.  

‘Just in case it would be more political than it should be I think it’s very important to have a 9th judge,’ he said.

But Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday would not promise a vote on the nomination before the election.

McConnell said he would wait for the person to come out of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings and then set the date for the vote on the Senate floor.

‘When the nomination comes out of committee, then I’ll decide when and how to proceed,’ he said after the Senate Republicans’ lunch on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

He would not address if that vote would be before or after November 3, when voters decide who will be the next president of the United States.  

President Trump has pushed for a vote on his nominee before the general election but McConnell could be more peckish on the timing to help out his senators in tight re-election contests who would prefer to deal with the issue after the voters go to the polls.

Timing in the Senate is also tough. There would be less than 40 days before the election to complete the process when most nominations take at least 70 days. Traditionally a nominee holds meetings with senators, has a confirmation hearing that could take two or three days, has to be voted out of committee and then has the final vote on the Senate floor.