Why President Trump is getting killed in court, in 1 astonishingly ignorant comment

The same president issuing executive orders doesn't understand basic facts about the structure of the American judicial system

His own worst enemy.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

While the Republican Congress has been laughably deficient in checking President Trump's corruption and power grabs, the federal courts have been doing their job. On Tuesday, a federal district court judge blocked an executive order intending to deny federal funding to sanctuary cities. The president of the United States wasted little time in reacting, tweeting "[f]irst the 9th Circuit rules against the ban and now it hits again on sanctuary cities — both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!" and criticizing the winners of the suit for "judge shopping." In a subsequent interview, he expressed agreement with "the many people that want to break up the 9th Circuit."

Both the order itself and Trump's reaction to the court's ruling indicated why he's had a rough ride in the courts so far: He has no idea what he's doing.

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Scott Lemieux

Scott Lemieux is a professor of political science at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., with a focus on the Supreme Court and constitutional law. He is a frequent contributor to the American Prospect and blogs for Lawyers, Guns and Money.