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

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.

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.

Romero, who was beaming over how well it went for the ACLU after conservative justices battered Solicitor General John Sauer with questions about Trump’s executive order, pointed out that he would not be overly surprised if the court comes down 9-0 (”if we’re really lucky”) against Trump.

That led him to report on what he saw from Trump in the crowded courtroom.

“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.”

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