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Early Saturday morning, President Trump tweeted an angry reaction to a federal judge's temporary block on his immigration executive order:

That post came after a series of tweets in which the president defended the substance of his order. "When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot , come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security - big trouble!" Trump argued, adding, "Interesting that certain Middle-Eastern countries agree with the ban. They know if certain people are allowed in it's death & destruction!"

Trump also took another swipe at The New York Times, reiterating his "fake news" label for the newspaper, and bookended his tweetstorm by declaring, "We must keep 'evil' out of our country!" and "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

U.S. District Judge James Robart, who issued the block, is a George W. Bush appointee in Seattle, and Trump's comment questioning his legitimacy prompted immediate backlash. "This is dangerous language," said MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. "Judicial independence is the bedrock of the US Constitution." Conservative independent candidate Evan McMullin similarly argued that though Trump is welcome to disagree with the court's decision, "undermining the legitimacy of a judge and the Judiciary Branch is a threat to the Republic."