In true Trumpian form, the President used the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy as an opportunity to brag about himself to supporters.
At a rally in North Dakota on Wednesday, President Donald Trump made the baseless claim that the “very special guy” (Kennedy) chose to retire during his presidency because Kennedy thinks Trump will pick the “right” replacement.
“I’m very honored that he chose to do it during my term in office because he felt confident for me to make the right choice and carry on his great legacy,” he said in remarks met with shouts and applause from supporters. “That’s why he did it.”
President Trump addresses Justice Kennedy's retirement: "I'm very honored that he chose to do it during my term in office because he felt confident in me to make the right choice and carry on his great legacy" https://t.co/qVAUa3g0Rh pic.twitter.com/algzs9IAuj
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) June 28, 2018
Trump also told the crowd that his SCOTUS pick would sit on the high court for 40 to 45 years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that he would begin the search for a nominee “immediately” and said the pick would come from the list of 25 conservative judges that his campaign compiled early on during the 2016 election.
Kennedy, who served on the Supreme Court for 30 years, announced on Wednesday that he would retire at the end of July, which has already ignited a partisan skirmish in Congress over whether lawmakers should confirm a Supreme Court justice during an election year.
