Trump sent a message to conservative judges about replacements: WSJ editors

Donald Trump's knee-jerk reaction to being on the losing end of a tariff ruling in a case reviewed by the U.S. Court of International Trade led to a Truth Social tirade that led one legal expert to call it "incomprehensible."

On Friday afternoon, the editorial board of the conservative Wall Street Journal piled on, and noted that the president seemed to be "sending a message" to a wide swath of conservative judges including two on the Supreme Court.

And that message may not be helpful.

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Trump's latest legal loss led to a tirade aimed at high-profile conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society which has had a major hand in helping the second-term president pack the federal courts with conservative jurists.

According to the editorial board, Trump's broadside was not only misguided, but missed the target completely.

"Talk about friendly fire. Mr. Trump is attacking the group, and especially the man in Leonard Leo, that were vital to his first-term success on judicial nominations," they wote before adding, "The irony here is that Mr. Trump’s appointments to the federal bench are one of the strongest parts of his legacy: 234 judges in total, including 54 circuit-court judges and Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. His recent nomination of Whitney Hermandorfer for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals adds another conservative constitutionalist."

The editorial went on to note that Trump's meltdown, born out of his anger and "embarrassment" at losing the high-profile tariff case, appeared to be both calculated and wrongheaded.

"But rather than reconsider, he wants to deflect blame to someone else. Mr. Trump harbors a grudge against the Federalist Society because it didn’t support his claims that the 2020 election was stolen, but it also didn’t oppose them. The group doesn’t take sides in such political debates," they surmised before saying his response made clear how he will proceed with future judicial nominations –– and that is what will come back to haunt him.

"The President should understand that his attacks on judicial conservatives will hurt his own agenda and legacy. His social-media post is the talk of the judicial ranks, and he is making no friends. Mr. Trump is likely to see fewer judges retire, lest they be replaced by partisan hacks. That includes Justices Samuel Alito (age 75) and Clarence Thomas (76)." the editors warned before suggesting, "An odd irony of Mr. Trump’s second term is that he has forgotten much of what produced the first-term successes that persuaded GOP primary voters he deserved re-election. His assault on his own judicial legacy is Exhibit A."

You can read the entire editorial here.