Gorsuch: Trump And I Talked About Abortion Being ‘Divisive’ In Campaign

Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch talks about playing basketball with former Supreme Court Justice Byron White as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 21, 2017, during his confirmation ... Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch talks about playing basketball with former Supreme Court Justice Byron White as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 21, 2017, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Trump and Judge Neil Gorsuch talked about abortion — but only because Trump thought the issue might have cost him Colorado in the presidential campaign, Gorsuch testified at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday.

Earlier in the hearings, Gorsuch denied that he was subject to any litmus tests when being considered for the nomination, including on Roe. v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case that Trump vowed from the stump that he would seek to overturn through his Supreme Court nominee.

But when Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) returned to the issue Tuesday evening, Gorsuch revealed that he and Trump indeed discussed abortion during the interview process for his selection as Trump’s nominee. He elaborated that the conversation was prompted by Trump’s frustration that he lost the primary in Colorado, where Gorsuch is from.

“He was disappointed he had lost Colorado. He said something like if he had had a little more time, he thinks he might have won,” Trump said. “Then he said that one of the topics that came up during the course of the campaign was abortion and that it was very divisive and split people evenly, he found.”

According to Gorsuch, Trump never mentioned Roe by name and the divisiveness of abortion in the campaign was the extent of their conversation on the topic.

Latest DC
11
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for mweck mweck says:

    Sadly, it is very believable that Trump would focus on his election rather than what type of judge Gorsuch would be.

  2. Earlier in the hearings, Gorsuch denied that he was subject to any litmus tests when being considered for the nomination, including on Roe. v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case that Trump vowed from the stump that he would seek to overturn through his Supreme Court nominee.

    Weasel words. Gorsuch had already passed the litmus test on abortion by those who gave trump his and 2 other nominations to choose from. Therefore, he can say trump didn’t have that litmus test for him because he had already fucking passed it!

  3. That part made me laugh out loud.

  4. Avatar for daled daled says:

    “Then he said that one of the topics that came up during the course of the campaign was abortion and that it was very divisive and split people evenly, he found.”

    According to Gorsuch, Trump never mentioned Roe by name and the divisiveness of abortion in the campaign was the extent of their conversation on the topic.

    And what, EXACTLY, was Judge Gorsuch’s response and/or comments to that topic?!?

    “Well, it only divides the righteous from the unrighteous so that it is easier to tell them apart,” perhaps???

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

5 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for daled Avatar for valgalky23 Avatar for mweck Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for clemmers Avatar for pmm080 Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for go2goal

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: