Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States, a position he should have been constitutionally barred from ever holding again. This catastrophic outcome was made possible by a Supreme Court decision that ignored the clear intent of the 14th Amendment and paved the way for Trump’s return to power. At the center of this debacle are two illegitimate justices, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whose appointments were the result of rank hypocrisy and procedural manipulation. Their roles in this decision make a mockery of justice, the Constitution, and any pretense that the Court is an impartial guardian of democracy.
Neil Gorsuch: The Original Sin of a Stolen Seat
Neil Gorsuch sits on the Supreme Court because Senate Republicans brazenly stole a seat that rightfully belonged to President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. Mitch McConnell’s refusal to even hold hearings for Garland in 2016 was an unprecedented act of political theft, justified by a flimsy excuse: that no Supreme Court justice should be confirmed in an election year. It was a lie, plain and simple. The goal was to deny Obama his constitutional authority to shape the Court and hold the seat open for a Republican president.
When Trump took office, Gorsuch was rushed through confirmation, cementing a conservative majority built on bad faith and partisan gamesmanship. This stolen seat is the foundation of the Court’s current legitimacy crisis. And now, Gorsuch has played his part in allowing Trump to run again, handing him a second chance to dismantle democratic norms and undermine the rule of law.
Amy Coney Barrett: The Crown Jewel of Hypocrisy
If Gorsuch’s appointment was a theft, Barrett’s was a middle finger to the American people. In 2020, just weeks before the presidential election, the same Republicans who blocked Garland in 2016 claimed there was no problem rushing Barrett’s confirmation. This rank hypocrisy wasn’t just shameless; it was dangerous. It exposed the GOP’s willingness to destroy institutional norms to consolidate power.
Barrett’s confirmation was an insult to democracy, and her role in the decision that enabled Trump’s comeback is exactly why she was installed. She is not an impartial justice; she is a political operative in a robe, placed on the bench to protect the man who appointed her. Her participation in this ruling underscores how deeply compromised the Supreme Court has become.
The Supreme Court’s Complicity in Trump’s Resurrection
The 14th Amendment is clear: anyone who engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States is disqualified from holding public office. Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021, when he incited a mob to attack the Capitol and overturn the results of a democratic election, should have disqualified him outright. But the Supreme Court, in its craven decision, decided otherwise.
This wasn’t just a legal error—it was a moral failure. By ruling in Trump’s favor, the Court ignored the Constitution to serve a partisan agenda. And let’s be clear: without Gorsuch and Barrett, Trump’s appointees who owe their seats to his corrupt and hypocritical maneuvers, this decision would not have been possible.
Trump as President-Elect: A National Tragedy
Now, on December 4, 2024, we stand on the brink of catastrophe. Trump has been elected president once again, vindicated by a Supreme Court decision that shredded the Constitution to appease its partisan masters. His return to power is a direct threat to the rule of law, democracy, and the fragile institutions that barely survived his first term.
This is not just about Trump’s ego or ambition. It’s about the systemic corruption of our judiciary and the willingness of those in power to sacrifice principles for political gain. The Court’s decision enabling Trump’s candidacy wasn’t a neutral act of legal interpretation; it was a capitulation to authoritarianism, made possible by illegitimate justices who owe their positions to the very man they protected.
The Death of Judicial Legitimacy
The Supreme Court’s ruling has done irreparable harm to its credibility. How can the American people trust a judiciary that bends the rules to protect a man who has shown nothing but contempt for democracy? How can we believe in the rule of law when the highest court in the land undermines the Constitution to serve partisan interests?
This is the legacy of Gorsuch and Barrett: a Court tainted by political manipulation and a nation on the verge of losing its democratic soul. Their participation in this decision will go down in history as one of the most shameful episodes in American jurisprudence.
Conclusion: A Supreme Failure
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow Trump to run again is a betrayal of the Constitution and the American people. With Trump now president-elect, the consequences of this cowardice are already unfolding. The Court’s legitimacy is in tatters, and the nation faces four more years of chaos, corruption, and authoritarianism.
History will not be kind to this Court or to the justices who enabled Trump’s return to power. They have shown us what happens when institutions fail, when those entrusted with protecting democracy instead choose to destroy it. This decision will be remembered as the moment the Supreme Court abandoned its principles, and with it, the American experiment in self-government.