Despite the fact that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously against Donald Trump’s immigration ban on Thursday, the president is saying it was a purely “political decision.”
According to NBC’s Hallie Jackson, Trump made the remarks during an unscheduled and brief interaction with the press while going from one room to the next in the White House.
Tweet:
President Trump just spoke to reporters, impromptu, in West Wing. Called this a “political decision” and reiterated vow to fight in court.
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) February 9, 2017
Trump said:
We’ll see them in court. It’s a political decision, and we’re gonna see them in court and I look forward to doing it … We have a situation where the security of our country is at stake and it’s a very, very serious situation, so we look forward, as I just said, to seeing them in court … It’s a decision that we’ll win, in my opinion, very easily.
Trump’s claim that the court’s decision is partisan is simply not true – in fact, just the opposite is. The three-judge panel that made the ruling was made up of two judges appointed by Democratic presidents and a third who was appointed by George W. Bush. Each of them ruled against Trump’s ban.
In other words, this was a bipartisan ruling – not a politically-motivated one, as this tweet from the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel appropriately noted:
So did the George W Bush appointee who made it unanimous contract socialism by osmosis? https://t.co/B94WIw4dzj
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 9, 2017
Trump’s spontaneous remarks accusing the court of acting politically came shortly he after posted an all-caps tweet lashing out at the court and promising to challenge the decision.
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
Ultimately, Trump’s reaction has nothing to do with the merits of the case. It’s about the fact that he lost – and nobody hates losing more than the thin-skinned commander-in-chief.
For a man who promised during that campaign that “we’re going to win so much, you’re going to get tired of winning,” he sure has been losing a lot, hasn’t he?
