Trump Attacks Supreme Court After Mail-In Voting Setback

US President Donald Trump has launched a broad attack on the Supreme Court after the justices declined to revive his restrictions on mail-in voting, accusing the court of failing to protect the country and criticising several other recent rulings.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump called the court's decision on mail-in voting a "bad decision" and a "big loss for Republicans, and America itself". He claimed, without offering evidence, that the ruling would make it easier for Democrats to "cheat" through mail-in ballots. He criticised the justices who backed the majority while praising Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who dissented.

Court refuses to lift block on voting order

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 14) dealt a major blow to Trump's effort to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections by refusing his request to lift an order blocking the policy. Only two of the court's six conservative justices dissented.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while concurring with the majority, said Trump's plan could potentially be legal in the longer term but that state and local election officials did not have enough time to implement the rule before the elections.

Trump's March executive order sought to restrict mail-in voting by requiring voter lists to be compiled and directing the US Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters appearing on those lists. The order triggered multiple legal challenges from Democratic-led states, which argued that the Constitution gives states broad authority over the administration of elections. Several states, including North Carolina, have already begun sending mail-in ballots to voters.

Democrats welcome ruling

Democratic leaders welcomed the decision, arguing that Trump's effort to restrict mail-in voting was unconstitutional. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's plan to make voting harder was "obviously unconstitutional" and that the Supreme Court had made the right decision. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the court had blocked Trump's "diabolical scheme" to restrict mail-in ballots, adding that "Democracy won". The American Civil Liberties Union also called the decision a "major win for voting rights, election integrity, and democracy".

Trump has repeatedly attacked mail-in voting and has claimed without evidence that it is particularly vulnerable to fraud. He has also continued to promote his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him by Democrat Joe Biden. Despite his criticism of mail voting, Trump has used the system himself, including when he voted by mail in Florida's Republican primary earlier this year.

Birthright citizenship and tariffs

In the same post, Trump criticised the Supreme Court over its handling of his attempts to restrict birthright citizenship. His comments came after a US federal judge in Maryland blocked a new Trump executive order targeting what the administration described as "birth tourism". US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction on September 2, ruling that the order was "almost certainly unconstitutional". She also said the Supreme Court had already established that children covered by the certified class were citizens at birth.

Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the US to parents who were in the country illegally or on temporary visas. Lower courts blocked that order, holding that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment protects birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court subsequently rejected Trump's earlier effort. His latest order was aimed at people he accused of entering the US as tourists with the intention of giving birth in the country.

Trump also renewed his criticism of the Supreme Court over its decision on his tariff policies, warning that the ruling could cost the US "Trillions and Trillions of Dollars". He accused the justices of failing to protect American interests and said the court's decisions had caused enormous damage to the country.

Trump said the justices were being "bullied and cajoled" by what he called the "Radical Left" and described the court's recent rulings as among the most damaging in US history. The President said he felt it was his "obligation and duty" to criticise the court despite believing that doing so could have political consequences. The latest clash adds to growing tensions between Trump and the Supreme Court over his administration's efforts on voting, immigration and other major policy issues.