Roberts Is More Bothered By Trump’s Attacks On Judges Than Judges’ Attacks On The Constitution
Shawn Fleetwood Visit on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
If anyone’s evoking ‘personal hostility,’ it’s rogue judges allowing their animus toward Trump to steer the outcome of cases before them.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is back in the news after publicly commenting on “hostility” toward federal judges.
The remarks came on Tuesday when the chief justice was interviewed by Senior District Judge Lee Rosenthal at a Rice University event. During her line of questioning, Rosenthal noted Roberts’ past acknowledgement that public criticism “comes with the territory” of being a judge. She then asked him how he handles such critiques of the Supreme Court or his judicial opinions.
The Bush 43 appointee began his answer by recognizing that judges aren’t “flawless” and that criticisms of their work “can very much be healthy.” What’s garnering attention is the next part in which he said that “the problem” that occasionally arises is when “the criticism … move[s] from a focus on legal analysis to personalities.”
“You see, from all over … [there’s] not just any one political perspective on it, that it’s more directed in a personal way, and that, frankly, can be actually quite dangerous,” Roberts said. “Judges around the country work very hard to get it right, and if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism. But personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”
Chief Justice John Roberts amid President Trump's criticism of judges: "Personally directed hostility is dangerous and it's got to stop." pic.twitter.com/Etrm1fe86B
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 17, 2026
While Roberts went out of his way to “both sides” his comments, and neither he nor Rosenthal mentioned him by name, it’s hard not to see the chief justice’s remarks as a partial rebuke to Donald Trump.
Since returning to office, the 47th president has regularly condemned activist lower-court judges issuing overreaching blocks on his policies. (His previous call to impeach Obama-appointed D.C. District Judge James Boasberg for his outrageous conduct on the bench prompted pushback from Roberts last year.)