Trump 'has never been more toxic' to the Supreme Court as ruling looms: analysis

Donald Trump and the Supreme Court's relationship has worsened again as the president wades in on the birthright citizenship case, an analyst has claimed.

The president had signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, that would strip certain babies born in the United States of their citizenship. This executive order has been challenged by the Supreme Court and is set to be assessed on Wednesday. The relationship between Trump and the Supreme Court is already frosty, with a ruling on the administration's tariff policy not concluding in favor of Trump.

Now, it could get even worse for both Trump and the Supreme Court, according to The Washington Post. Columnist James Romoser wrote, "President Trump’s relationship with the Supreme Court has never been more toxic. Now, it risks getting worse."

"After the court’s rejection of Trump’s tariffs provoked a new level of hostility from the president, the justices are set to consider a pillar of his immigration crackdown: limiting U.S. citizenship. Trump seems to be bracing for defeat.

"A ruling against the president would further undercut Trump’s stated desire for a court that rubber-stamps his agenda. In the six weeks since the tariff decision, he has repeatedly disparaged the patriotism and loyalty of the justices who ruled against him."

Despite Trump looking to pick up a win against the Supreme Court, the odds are very much against him. "A broad swath of other legal scholars and historians, including some on the right, say the administration is distorting the 14th Amendment’s text, defying Supreme Court precedent and mischaracterizing what the amendment’s drafters intended," Romoser wrote.

There could be clear opposition from Justice Clarence Thomas too, given his argument on a 2022 case over federal benefits for Puerto Rico.

Romoser explained, "Most tellingly, Justice Clarence Thomas has already adopted a broad interpretation of the citizenship clause, albeit in a different context. In a 2022 case about federal benefits for Puerto Rico residents, Thomas argued that the clause promises equal protection for all citizens.

"Though birthright citizenship wasn’t an issue in the case, Thomas would have understood the implications of his argument on future litigation over the birthright issue, said Dilan Esper, a lawyer who has written on birthright citizenship."