Trump Weighs In On If He Should Have Been A Judge Instead Of President

President Donald Trump weighed in Friday on whether he should have become a judge instead of president when a reporter asked him about it.

The Context

The Trump administration has been dealt a flurry of legal setbacks since Trump took office as courts across the country blocked or temporarily paused Trump’s efforts to deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil; the administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students; Trump’s effort to dismantle an independent agency; his retaliatory campaign against law firms whose work runs counter to his policies; and more.

Trump and a number of other administration officials have publicly targeted the judges who have issued adverse rulings, calling them “rogue” and “woke activist” judges and adding that they should be impeached. One Republican lawmaker has also called for Trump to serve three terms in office so he can “reset” the courts.

What To Know

Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Trump about the string of rulings during an Oval Office press conference on Friday, saying: “So many of the things that you’re trying to do are held up in court right now. If the courts are going to have so much influence over U.S. policy, do you wish you would have just become a judge instead?”

Trump laughed in response and said, “Yeah, well, look, it wasn’t meant to be that way. If you look at the founders, the president had certain powers. And you have three groups and … they’re equal powers.”

The president went on to repeat his criticisms of a federal judge in Boston who recently accused the Trump administration of violating a court ruling ordering it to provide “meaningful” due process to people targeted for deportation.

“You can’t have a judge in Boston running foreign policy in places all over the country because he’s got a liberal bent or he’s a radical left person,” Trump said, referring to U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden.

“That’s what the executive branch is for and you have checks and balances,” Trump told Doocy. The president then went on recycle his criticisms of the Biden administration over immigration, inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.