Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,954 posts)
Thu Apr 2, 2026, 08:31 PM Yesterday

'Fidgeting' Trump had to be moved during Supreme Court hearing: ACLU attorney

trump is too stupid to understand the concepts being discussed. trump could understand that his attorney was NOT doing a good job and that the Justices were not buying what his attorney was trying to sell

Donald Trump's unprecedented appearance at the Supreme Court encompassed both a request that his seat be moved and the reported inability of the president to hold still while lawyers made their case before the nation's highest court.

Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-04-02T20:55:24Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-fidget-supreme-court/

Appearing on MS NOW with host Jonathan Lemire, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero stated the president sat right in front of him, so he had a ringside seat to watch the president react to arguments over his attempt to override the 14th Amendment on birthright citizenship.....

Could you see him from your vantage point? If so, what was he like?” MS NOW’s Lemire asked.

He was six feet in front of me... he was literally right in front of me,” he recalled. “I was one row behind him, the Secret Service and then the president, so I could watch him entirely throughout the argument. Some of the press reports also got it wrong. Some of the press reports said that he left after the government had its case; the president sat through at least 10 to 15 minutes of our argument.”

“I could see him fidgeting in the chair. I literally could see him, he was literally in my line of vision,” he added. “And when our legal director, Cecillia Wang, made her opening statements, and then when she began to answer questions from the justices, you could see he started getting restless. His shoulders slumped a little bit.”

“I think he was there, clearly to intimidate the justices,” he added. “When they first had him, they sat him on the very end of the front row. And then the Commerce Secretary, Mr. [Howard] Lutnick got up and told the security guards that Mr. Trump would like to be seated more centrally in the courtroom. So they moved him literally right in front of us.”

“And then it was clear that he was endeavoring to put his thumb on the scale. He was endeavoring to glower at the justices to kind of intimidate them, almost defy them to rule against him,” he continued. “And what was remarkable, and this really is a testament that our system of checks and balances is working, that it's a coequal branch of government. Donald Trump is a guest in the Supreme Court. This is Chief Justice Roberts’ house. And there was not a mention, they did not miss a beat when he walked in, the courtroom got quiet. When he walked out, no one missed a beat.


3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
'Fidgeting' Trump had to be moved during Supreme Court hearing: ACLU attorney (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Yesterday OP
Clown FiveFifteen 22 hrs ago #1
Trump made Supreme Court move his seat to right in front of the judges during birthright hearing, ACLU head says LetMyPeopleVote 1 hr ago #2
He was probably pissed that Roberts didn't acknowledge Ilsa 1 hr ago #3

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,954 posts)
2. Trump made Supreme Court move his seat to right in front of the judges during birthright hearing, ACLU head says
Fri Apr 3, 2026, 07:01 PM
1 hr ago

President raged against the Supreme Court after the hearing, calling it a ‘KANGAROO COURT!!!’



https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-supreme-court-seat-birthright-citizenship-b2951631.html

President Donald Trump reportedly demanded that his seat be moved at the Supreme Court so he could sit directly in front of the court's justices during his unprecedented visit to the court to witness the oral arguments in his birthright citizenship case this week.

Trump became the first president to attend a Supreme Court oral argument, a move that many critics took to be a naked attempt to intimidate the court into ruling in his favor. Early in his second term, Trump issued an executive order challenging the 14th Amendment, which establishes that anyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero told MSNOW that Trump was initially seated at the end of the first row of seats, but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the court's security that the president wanted to be moved to the center, where he would face the justices.

“Then it was clear that he was endeavoring to put his thumb on the scale,” Romero said. "“He was endeavoring to glower at the justices to kind of intimidate them, almost defy them to rule against him.”

Romero said that rather than appearing intimidating, Trump spent the hearing fidgeting in his chair. He said after ACLU Legal Director Cecilia Wang began making her opening arguments that the president "started getting restless" and that his "shoulders slumped a little bit."

Ilsa

(64,386 posts)
3. He was probably pissed that Roberts didn't acknowledge
Fri Apr 3, 2026, 07:05 PM
1 hr ago

Trump's presence in the court. Not him personally or as president.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»'Fidgeting' Trump had to ...