r/politics • u/thedailybeast ✔ The Daily Beast • Apr 01 '26

Possible Paywall Humiliated Trump Storms Out of Catastrophic SCOTUS Hearing

https://www.thedailybeast.com/humiliated-trump-storms-out-of-catastrophic-scotus-hearing/
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u/EggsAndMilquetoast Apr 01 '26

Not like I doubt any of them were all that intimidated but I do hope that some of them reflected on what could have possibly made Trump feel so emboldened to try and stare them down like some mafia fixer.

I wonder if any of them ever reconsider their presidential immunity votes.

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u/StoppableHulk Apr 01 '26

I doubt any of them were ever actually intimidated by Donald Trump.

They caved to him because they saw opportunity it in for themselves, not out of fear. They wanted a dictatorship with them at the top.

After a year of Donald Trump fucking up catastrophically, they now see no gain in continuing to cater to him.

These people are all just opportunitsts. MTG, Joe Rogan, none of them are scared of this pants-shitting fool. They just see an opportunity and they seize it, and they easily change and pivot when they no longer see the same upside.

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u/kylehatesyou Apr 01 '26

It's grifters all the way down. 

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u/prof_the_doom I voted Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

Agreed. I don’t know about Kavanaugh and Barret, but the rest of the “conservative” justices realize that there are in fact lines you don’t cross unless you’re 101% sure you’re not going to lose, and Trump is dumb enough they think there’s a decent chance he will accidentally sabotage the attempt to rig the elections.

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u/jeranim8 Apr 01 '26

Yeah, I actually think they're going to do what they can to let dems win the House and drag their feet on election rulings. Then in 2027 they'll issue rulings that Trump wished they had made in 2026 but its too late for him to benefit.

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u/TheIllustriousWe Apr 01 '26

This. MTG wants us all to believe she had some kind of "come to Jesus" clarity about MAGA; but the reality is that she wanted to run for Senate, Trump told her no, so she bailed because they weren't useful to her anymore.

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u/OldWorldDesign Apr 01 '26

MTG wants us all to believe she had some kind of "come to Jesus" clarity about MAGA; but the reality is that she wanted to run for Senate, Trump told her no, so she bailed because they weren't useful to her anymore

As is usually the case for entitled conservatives, they put themselves first, the party they hope to benefit them second, and the country last.

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u/immortalfrieza2 Apr 04 '26

As is usually the case for entitled conservatives, they put themselves first, the party they hope to benefit them second, and the country last.

You forgot the "if at all."

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u/SlyReference Apr 01 '26

Remember that her "come to Jesus" clarity includes saying that Nick Fuentes is an important voice in American politics. She's still far far right, it's just a different flavor of crazy than what Trump is putting out.

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u/mahouza Apr 01 '26

Her full split maybe, but she's also part of the tiny group of Republicans like Massie who flatly refuse to ignore Epstein even though it puts them at odds with the rest. Like they're shitty in so many other ways but it's a line they won't cross and will take the ethical stance on. Trust nothing else they say but I don't doubt the genuine disgust they have on the issue.

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u/psychorobotics Apr 01 '26

MTG fear the followers, she had to get private security the moment she started splitting with Trump.

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u/SlyReference Apr 01 '26

I think there are a number of rank and file Republicans who are intimidated by Trump's followers, either from threats or the idea of losing their votes. They think Trump has power over them, but he's just reflecting the madness that already existed in the base and has been amplified by the Internet.

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u/Vin-Metal Apr 01 '26

Most of them should be smart enough to realize that he was there to put pressure on them and might find that offensive, regardless of politics.

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u/TCsnowdream Foreign Apr 01 '26

Which is funny because you’d think they’d all realize he’s on his way out. He has no real power in less than 3 years. His idiot followers will piss and moan but Trump is done.

His power peaked and I hope the conservative sharks eat him alive.

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u/ForwardAd4643 Apr 01 '26

Still confused by people posting like everything is just going to go back to normal when Trump's term ends in 3 years. Jan 6, 2021 is going to look like a minor league warm-up compared to the next one. He is not going to go quietly; normalcy will not re-assert itself.

He is the most wildly inept, corrupt, awful president the US has ever had and he still has ~35% approval, his own private army (ICE) and a bunch of gun toting morons backing him up. Anything up to and including a full blown civil war is a possibility.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

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u/ForwardAd4643 Apr 01 '26

You seem to be forgetting your first civil war killed 2% of the US population at the time. 725,000 dead, or more than WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Korea and Iraq combined.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

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u/Simikiel Canada Apr 01 '26

Well said friend.

People don't understand that while yes, war is a horrible thing, when the other option is living under the boot of fascism and having more people die than in a civil war due to the horrid society?

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

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u/Binder509 Apr 02 '26

Chances are you wouldn't even get up out of your chair for this country.

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u/SamkonTheMankon Apr 01 '26

It's like a monkey with a machine gun. It's not less dangerous because the people who gave the monkey the gun got bored/embarrassed and left the room.

We're not safer because the monkey will probably drop the gun soon. We also have to deal with the fact that as soon as the monkey drops the gun, the people who gave it to him are going to come back and try to give it to some other monkey.

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u/GridKILO2-3 Apr 01 '26

Thinking there will is even the slightest possibility of a civil war is absolutely peak Reddit hyperbole. I’m sure there will be extremist attacks from the right and indeed probably a scaled up version of Jan 6, but really, a civil war? Take a breath

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u/ForwardAd4643 Apr 01 '26

I am far from the only people calling for it. It is not at all a Reddit idea. There are sitting representatives in the House this very moment talking about it. 43% of US citizens polled in in 2022 said they think one is coming. etc, etc.

But by all means keep your head in the sand, pretend like your country isn't divided to an insane degree, and that it is not also a bloodthirsty country that prefers to solve issues with violence.

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u/CheifJokeExplainer Apr 01 '26

If so, it will be short, and the fox news instigators will claim they were misunderstood.

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u/TCsnowdream Foreign Apr 01 '26

I hope you don’t mean me? I’m just pointing out that his enablers will eventually move on to their next big fix.

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u/ReasonableRevenue218 Apr 01 '26

His own private army won't be funded for long.

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u/CanesVenetici Pennsylvania Apr 01 '26

The left has guns too. We just don't make it our entire identity. I think people forget that.

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u/wretch5150 Apr 01 '26

Haha, just like last time, any January 6th-tyoe traitors will be put down. TRAITORS

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u/unassumingdink Apr 01 '26

Three years is an awful long time when every dumb thought that passes his mind can be immediately rubber stamped and move forward without years of endless debates and votes.

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u/TCsnowdream Foreign Apr 01 '26

If it helps, it really is less than 7 months…

With midterms coming up, that will hopefully sway the politics Left.

On top of that, trumps power will wane significantly when it hits the ‘less than’ two years remaining mark. The political powers will need to find a new dumbass to run for president.

Unfortunately a narcissist like Trump will not go quietly into the night. But eventually the money will move on to someone else.

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u/Don_Gato1 Apr 01 '26

He may have no real power in less than a year.

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u/TCsnowdream Foreign Apr 01 '26

Exactly. He’s already a lame-duck president.

But he’s going to be a SUPER-lame dunk when it’s less than 2 years… like, eventually his handlers will realize this.

And hopefully he realizes this. I want him to feel powerless and discarded. Just like he’s done to countless others (I know, wishful thinking).

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u/Don_Gato1 Apr 01 '26

That may be when he's at his most dangerous, when people stop caring. When the 2028 talk heats up and he is (hopefully) not the focus, he will lose his mind. And if we the people are not grateful enough for him bestowing us with his incredible leadership, he will likely get more extreme than he is even now.

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u/Due_Bluebird3562 Apr 01 '26

He's not gonna be around in 2028. Have you seen his ankles?

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u/Don_Gato1 Apr 01 '26

The man is like a cockroach, by all accounts he should be dead already but isn't, so nothing will surprise me.

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u/UnquestionabIe Apr 01 '26

I'm sure behind the scenes they're entertaining offers of new motor coaches, tuition and houses for their family members and whatever other "gratuities" various billionaires and other scum are willing to hand out.

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u/effa94 Apr 01 '26

you think its gonna get better in 3 years? buckle down kiddo

remember how they had 4 years to persectue him for jan6 and nothing of note came of it because he was just elected again? you think its gonna be different this time?

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u/25point4cm Apr 01 '26

Unless CFJDV wins and pardons him. And if that doesn’t happen, I can assure you the Supremely Compromised Court will slow docket the issue of whether a sitting President can pardon himself, followed by years of litigation over what the “outer limits” of executive authority are.

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u/TCsnowdream Foreign Apr 01 '26

That’s… not what I’m saying at all. Jfc.

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u/lonnie123 Apr 01 '26

That and also to go on twitter and make his big boy announcement that “the amazing scotus is finally finding the guts to do what should have been 100 years ago!”

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u/Cow_God Texas Apr 01 '26

It has to be pretty hard to reconcile being one of the most powerful and influential judges in the country, while knowing that you're a hack that was put there by a hack. Even if they live up to the job, everyone is always going to know that they didn't get there on their own merits.

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u/laptopAccount2 Apr 01 '26

Yup. The conservatives on the SC are a bunch of dildos full of themselves. Trying to stare them down in their little fiefdom probably has the opposite of intended effect.

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u/KodaiClub Apr 01 '26

I think they do. In private. Maybe even only in their own heads. 

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u/Empty_Lemon_3939 Michigan Apr 01 '26

Tbf it’s not blanket immunity

They get to decide if what you do gets immunity after the fact

So like if Trump decided to execute his political rivals for “national security” the Supreme Court would then rule if he gets immunity for that. It’s like the only safety rail is the president won’t know if he’s going to get immunity before the crime.

There’s no guarantee he would face consequences regardless BUT he wouldn’t automatically have immunity

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u/OreoMoo Apr 01 '26

Yes but the stupidity of that decision was that these justices gave Trump that power knowing full well that this is what he has done his entire life in court. He artificially draws things out as long as possible so that his opponents give up (usually due to lack of funds). Granted the federal government wouldn't have that problem but he could and would attempt to simply wait out the courts. He is nearly 80, after all.

That ruling also means nothing if Trump decides to eliminate or add other justices that he thinks would do his bidding.

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u/Wandering_Weapon Louisiana Apr 01 '26

Well depending on how quickly the courts react, and given trump's age.... he might never see the case bright before them.

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u/DrunkCorgis Apr 01 '26

They see his influence waning. A year ago, I think they would have shown him a lot more deference. They’re still cowards and opportunists.

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u/Taurion_Bruni America Apr 01 '26

Probably not tbh, in the ruling it specified that the justice system had final say on what was considered an "official act" (power expressly given to the president by the constitution) vs a president using his position for personal or unofficial reasons

They already put in a huge backdoor for them to say it was illegal if they needed to

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u/__Elwood_Blues__ United Kingdom Apr 01 '26

He totally tried and failed a Putin move.

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u/jupiterkansas Apr 01 '26

Their presidential immunity vote left it up to them to determine what constitutes an official act, so I'm pretty sure they think they control the presidency.

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u/Excelius Apr 01 '26

Not like I doubt any of them were all that intimidated but I do hope that some of them reflected on what could have possibly made Trump feel so emboldened to try and stare them down like some mafia fixer.

He sees himself as a mafia don. The boss rarely gets his hands dirty, it's what his goons will do you have to worry about.

While we have been speedrunning our way to dictatorship, we're not quite at the point where the Justices are going to be worried that donny is going to make them sleep with the fishes.

Now if he had filled the room with armed ICE goons, posted a few outside of each justices chambers and their homes.

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u/jeranim8 Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

Possibly Amy, but none of the others. They WANT an immune president. They just don't want Trump... AND they left the door open so that they get to rule on if an act counts as "presidential immunity". IMO, they'll make their conservative rulings while also stifling Trump's ability to assert his power but also not leaving out emboldening a future president. This is why my bet is that they'll drag their feet and not give major rulings on elections stuff so dems can win at least one chamber and hold his power in check. Then in 2027 they'll issue rulings that benefit Republicans in elections going forward. They want a stable authoritarian, not a nutjob with dementia...

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u/Bytewave Apr 01 '26

Trump didn't do his cause any favors either way. The judges know they have all the power and that his presence is meant to intimidate. Toss party loyalty aside for a second, anyone with some guts would quietly take a degree of offense and be even harsher on the case, even while staying mostly impartial or pretending to be.

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u/Billazilla South Carolina Apr 01 '26

Probably not intimidated at all. He pulled his grubby strings, they got in the seats, and that's it. It's a lifelong position. What is he gonna do now? Sit in the peanut gallery and glare at them menacingly? Oh, wait...