Donald Trump boasted to Bob Woodward that he’d “broken every record” on judicial appointments before stating that George Washington “had a better percentage because he appointed 100 percent,” according to new tape obtained by the Washington Post.
Trump could not hide his excitement about packing the courts with conservatives. He even went as far as to display a list of judicial appointment orders on his desk.
He also said that Senate Majority leader, Mitch McConnell was obsessed with stacking the courts with conservative judges.
“You know what Mitch’s biggest thing is in the whole world? His judges,” Trump said. Given a choice between pushing 10 ambassadors or a single judge through the Senate, ‘he will absolutely ask me: “Please, let’s get the judge approved instead of 10 ambassadors.”‘Â
In a separate interview in January with the veteran journalist for his book RAGE, Trump bragged that he had installed 187 judges to the federal bench and two to the Supreme Court. “The only one that has a better percentage is George Washington, because he appointed 100 per cent,” Trump told Woodward. “But my percentage is, you know, like, ridiculous.”
The issue of appointing judges has taken center stage once again following the death of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 45 days before the election. Mitch McConnell has said Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the Senate floor, going back on precedent he set in 2016 about not voting to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court in an election year when President Obama nominated Merrick Garland.
