The hosts of “The View” blasted Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on Monday for defending the court’s legitimacy.
After Vice President Kamala Harris blasted the “activist court” for overturning Roe v. Wade in an interview with NBC News’ Chuck Todd, Roberts argued Friday that the court “has always decided controversial cases” and that public disapproval of those decisions has no effect on the court’s legitimacy. “You don’t want the political branches telling you what the law is, and you don’t want public opinion to be the guide about what the appropriate decision is,” Roberts said.
“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Roberts comments were “a bit disingenuous” and claimed that the June decision to overturn Roe stemmed from the justices’ religious beliefs rather than their objective interpretation of the the Constitution.
“I think John Roberts is being a bit disingenuous. Yes, Americans made some tough decisions including letting black kids go to school with white kids, letting gay people get married,” she said. “There are many, many decisions people freaked out about. This one, this last spate of stuff comes from a place of religion, which is not constitutional. I mean, that’s not how we are supposed to be doing things, as far as I remember … I thought I was allowed to be who I am. That’s why you want to be an American because you’re free to be who you want to be and other people don’t have to like who you are.”
Co-host Ana Navarro brought up the sexual assault allegations against Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas. (RELATED: ‘Let Me Take Out My Little Violin’: ‘The View’ Defends Protesters Who Forced Kavanaugh To Escape Restaurant)
“If [Roberts] doesn’t understand why Americans are questioning the legitimacy of the court, let me explain it to him,” Navarro said. “Number one, there’s two Supreme Court justices who have serious sexual harassment or assault accusations against them and who a lot of Americans think don’t have the moral character to be at the court. Number two, they’re making decisions that are way out of touch and against the majority of Americans.”
She then claimed that the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett was hypocritical because the Senate refused to confirm Attorney General Merrick Garland when former President Barack Obama nominated him in 2016. She also pointed to the unprecedented leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision and Thomas’ marriage to his wife, Ginni, a conservative political activist who is being investigated for her alleged connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Last, and let’s not forget because it’s certainly not least, there is a Supreme Court justice who is married to a wack job,” she said, referring to Thomas.
Co-host Sunny Hostin suggested that the Court should be expanded to ease the consequences of overturning Roe, leading co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin to argue that lifetime appointments have led justices to switch their political affiliations or become more moderate in the past.
“I have never heard before this year and before really you said it, the political affiliations of a Supreme Court justice,” Hostin said. “No one ever talks about the fact that this judge is a Democrat, this judge is a Republican because when they are on that court, parties don’t matter.”