Donald Trump Congratulates Samuel Alito For His ‘Courage’

Former President Donald Trump is congratulating conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for his “courage” in refusing to recuse himself from Trump v. United States amid his ongoing pro-Trump flag controversy.

Alito has been embroiled in a scandal for weeks over reports of an upside-down U.S. flag and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag being flown at his Virginia home around the time of the January 6 Capitol attack. The flags are associated with false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Trump and right-wing Christian nationalism, respectively.

Despite repeated calls for Alito to recuse himself over claims of bias and conflict of interest, the justice has refused to step aside for Trump v. United States—the pending case on Trump’s claim that presidential immunity makes him impervious to the dozens of criminal charges that he is currently facing.

Trump praised Alito for remaining on the bench for “anything January 6th related” in a post to Truth Social on Wednesday, disregarding the importance of the bias claims while arguing that the conservative justice is displaying the “guts” and “grit” required to combat President Joe Biden.

“Congratulations to United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for showing the INTELLIGENCE, COURAGE, and ‘GUTS’ to refuse stepping aside from making a decision on anything January 6th related,” Trump wrote.

“All U.S. Judges, Justices, and Leaders should have such GRIT – Our Country would be far more advanced than its current status as A BADLY FAILING NATION, headed by the Worst President in American History, Crooked Joe Biden!” he added.

Newsweek reached out for comment to a Supreme Court spokesperson via email on Wednesday evening.

Following the recent publication of photos of an upside-down American flag flying at his home on January 17, 2021, by The New York Times, Alito claimed that his wife, Martha Ann Alito, raised the flag due to a personal dispute and that he was unaware of its placement.

The upside-down flag was a popular symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement at the time, which falsely claimed that Trump was the victim of massive voter fraud when he lost to Biden in 2020 and aimed to overturn the outcome.

Alito made similar claims that his wife was responsible following last week’s publication by The New York Times of photos showing the “Appeal to Heaven” flag flying at his Long Beach Island, New Jersey, vacation home in July and September 2023.

Following a letter from Democratic Senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse urging Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to request Alito’s recusal from Trump v. United States, Alito claimed that concerns about his impartiality in matters involving Trump were not “reasonable.”

“I am confident that a reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to affect the outcome of Supreme Court cases would conclude that the events recounted above do not meet the applicable standard for recusal,” Alito wrote the senators in direct response. “I am therefore required to reject your request.”

However, concerns about Alito’s alleged political bias continue to mount, with Trump’s apparent endorsement of his non-recusal as a move against Biden only adding fuel to the fire.

“Here’s another flag for Mrs. Alito to fly,” former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, a frequent Trump critic, wrote while sharing an image of the former president’s Truth Social post to X, formerly Twitter.