One of Donald Trump’s dumbest and most vile domestic priorities is “ending birthright citizenship” and reversing the 14th Amendment. As in, everyone born on American soil is an American citizen, even if their parents are immigrants or here on a tourist visa or what have you. My father was here on a work visa when I was born (he became a naturalized citizen a couple of years after I was born), so I’ve been sort of following this bullsh-t. The thing is, you have to take the larger view: if birthright citizenship is overturned, what else is there? Like, how in the world would citizenship even be determined? Would there be a mass revocation of citizenship from millions of natural-born citizens? These are the questions now before the majority wingnut Supreme Court. SCOTUS began hearing oral arguments on birthright citizenship yesterday. Donald Trump waddled into the court in person in an attempt to create his own The Godfather Part II scene where Frank Pentangeli’s brother walks into the Congressional hearing.
President Trump had seen enough. He spent about an hour listening to the government make its case against birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the high court.
His presence, which put him face-to-face with justices whom he has tried to bully and intimidate, only raised the stakes of an already closely watched case about what it means to be an American, an issue that was key to his political rise. But about 13 minutes into the opposing argument by the American Civil Liberties Union, Mr. Trump abruptly got up and walked out, trailed by two escorts.
Mr. Trump has made little room for dissent during his second stint in the White House, and it was no different on Wednesday at the court. In all, Mr. Trump spent about an hour in the courtroom’s public gallery, listening as the justices across the ideological spectrum questioned his efforts to strictly limit birthright citizenship.
Mr. Trump has long attacked judges who defy him, but the president’s relationship with the Supreme Court justices became even more strained after the court’s decision in February to invalidate his tariffs plan, which like immigration is at the heart of his administration’s agenda.
A hush came over the courtroom as Mr. Trump entered the room. He arrived about 10 minutes before the oral arguments began, accompanied by his attorney general, Pam Bondi, as well as the White House counsel, David Warrington.
Wearing a red tie, Mr. Trump sat with his hands clasped in his lap as the arguments delved quickly into a history lesson about the 19th century debate surrounding the 14th Amendment. The president’s seat was at least half a dozen rows behind the lectern, where his solicitor general, D. John Sauer, stands. Mr. Sauer previously worked as Mr. Trump’s personal attorney. The justices did not appear to acknowledge Mr. Trump’s presence, instead focusing their attention on the two lawyers presenting the case.
Mr. Trump departed the Supreme Court just as Cecillia Wang, the A.C.L.U. lawyer, and the justices went back and forth on questions central to the case, including whether undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors, such as students or workers on visas, should receive automatic U.S. citizenship
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Upon his return to the White House, Mr. Trump issued a public reaction to the arguments on social media, falsely claiming the United States was “the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” The United States is among at least 30 countries that automatically grant citizenship to anyone born within its borders.
Yeah, he went there as a mob boss to wordlessly and obesely threaten the wingnut justices. What’s remarkable is that the wingnut justices weren’t bothered by Trump’s orange, walrus-like visage. Even the conservative justices were massively skeptical of D. John Sauer’s oral arguments, including Sauer’s answers about whether Native Americans would be citizens under Trump’s new citizenship policies.
GORSUCH: Do you think Native Americans are birthright citizens under your test?
SAUER: Ah, I think … so. I have to think that through. pic.twitter.com/9OxV0ZBlRi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 1, 2026
🚨HAPPENING NOW: Trump just suffered a humiliating blow while in attendance at the Supreme Court – as John Roberts SHUTS DOWN the government lawyer arguing against Birth Right Citizenship.
This is not going well for them:
SAUER: “We're in a new world where 8 billion people… pic.twitter.com/RnvMCiIH5U
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) April 1, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- United States President Donald J Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for US Secretary of Homeland Security DHS Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Mullin was confirmed as DHS secretary, placing the former Oklahoma senator in charge of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has triggered a 37-day funding shutdown of the cabinet agency. Copyright: xGraemexSloanx/,Image: 1085954364, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Graeme Sloan / Pool via CNP /MediaPunch/Avalon
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- United States President Donald J Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for US Secretary of Homeland Security DHS Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. The former Oklahoma senator is now in charge of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has triggered a 37-day funding shutdown of the cabinet agency. Copyright: xGraemexSloanx/,Image: 1085983403, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Graeme Sloan / Pool via CNP /MediaPunch/Avalon
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- United States President Donald J Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for US Secretary of Homeland Security DHS Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. The former Oklahoma senator is now in charge of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has triggered a 37-day funding shutdown of the cabinet agency. Copyright: xGraemexSloanx/,Image: 1085983408, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Graeme Sloan / Pool via CNP /MediaPunch/Avalon
He came to intimidate the justices, the first president to do so. He is incapable of staying in his own lane or doing anything right or helpful. I was hoping one of the justices would kick him out.
The Supremes have always extended an open invitation to sitting Presidents to attend and there is even a reserved row but no other President ever used it.
If he had opened his mouth and interrupted the proceedings in any way, Roberts would have had him removed and tossed out on the steps
From NPR: Sauer, however, asserted that contrary to the law as understood for 160 years, the 14th Amendment does not confer automatic citizenship on every baby born in the U.S. He told the court that the true meaning of the amendment was to grant citizenship to former slaves and their children, no more.
Ummmm, no it was not only for former slaves and their children. And yeah, I agree with Roberts (God help me): New world, same old constitution.
Would his kids with Ivana (or Melania for that matter) then be stripped of their citizenship?
Lastly, the arrogance of Sauer thinking he can interpret law as it was applied 160 that has gone unchallenged until now.
Whatever happens, canada will be accepting anyone who can prove their ancestors were Canadian to obtain citizenship. I hope good people, with kind hearts and the best intentions will be coming here
My SIL just got her Canadian citizenship and she is PUMPED. I think her dad is getting his too. Two amazing people that Canada would lucky to have–and they are definitely NOT MAGAts.
It’s absurd to me that he supposedly didn’t realize Gorsuch would ask this question. Any person who has ever read one of Gorsuch’s opinions regarding tribal rights and sovereignty knew EXACTLY where he was going to go.
Truly, as awful as he is on most other things, he’s probably the best justice we’ve ever had for Native American rights.
Yes he’s been shockingly consistent when dealing with matters related to tribal rights and sovereignty I hate all of the right-leaning Supremes but he at least seems to exercise some independence from time to time.
Barron COULD be stripped of his citizenship if this passes but he won’t be and neither would anyone White or White passing with an “acceptable” (to them) last name. They only plan to enforce the rules against POC. Rules for thee, but none for me – it’s the GOP way.
They want a mostly White country, with the few POC left being the celebrities who entertain them, with the rest being subservient under the new Jim Crow, or locked up in concentration camps, killed, or imprisoned. This is their plan. At some point I expect 4 AM a Truth Social Post announcing African-Americans are no longer citizens, with the caption “I HAVE SPOKEN!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter”. And I wish that were a joke. It’s not.
If the SC rules against him, I expect an executive order disbanding the Court or changing its makeup. I expect him to disband Congress soon. He just bypasses Congress anyway, I really don’t see the point of them there. And yes I am Queen of Doom this morning, I don’t expect him to swear in any Democrat who wins at midterms or acknowledge the results.
The upside, some medical professional gave him 22 days to live on Social media. That would be April 24th. As we all know this is a very long time in trump land. In the interim, they can re-name the Gulf of America Gulf of Trump, or give him a shiny trophy he didn’t earn to appease him.
I was worried when I heard they would hear this case. That usually means they’re open to the argument. Sounds like they just wanted to make fun of the argument. At least I hope that’s it. Turning millions of people into stateless vagabonds is exactly the kind of thing the 🍊💩 stain loves to do.
I thought this was an April fools joke when I first saw it reported yesterday. The conservative justices delibately created a monster with immunity from his many crimes in office and can’t complain that mango now believes he is an untouchable treasonous combo of mob boss, war criminal and pedophile. The fact that he immediately went online and incited his weird af followers with vitriol and lies is a chef’s kiss for the 6 ultra conservative lunatics who gleefully endangered millions of women’s lives when they overturned Roe pushing a state’s rights agenda that is utter bs. Mango is openly endangering the entire Supreme Court when 6 of them have gleefully done his bidding. Also. I bet the entire room smelled like a dirty diapers and a dead pigs rectum. Also, part 2. 4 of his kids wouldn’t be US citizens if he gets this passed. 🤔
I see this argument a lot about his kids. But his kids aren’t birthright citizens because he is a citizen. Birthright citizenship is conferred on people born in this country when both parents are non-citizens.
Under his order, babies born to non citizen mothers would not have birthright citizenship. Several of the justices focused on that issue with their questions
Once again, Trump just making 💩 up as he goes along. I have never heard of birthright citizenship based solely on the mother’s status.
You are so right! They paved the way for this hellscape the entire planet is in and never thought it would affect them. Now their orange god is this close to doxxing them online and sending his rabid supporters to “do their thing” (terrorize them).
This is what they created. So my concern for their personal safety, after they made the entire world unsafe, is literally at Ivan Drago levels of IDGAF.
As I said upthread they only plan to enforce the new rules agains POC. No Whites will be affected you can bet on it.
Yeah, he thinks he can intimidate anyone. He usually leaves proceedings early when he knows he’s losing, like when he left the court during the E. Jean Carroll case, which that blatant disrespect for the jurors likely caused them to fully vote against him. Things definitely aren’t going well when 4 of the 6 Repub/MAGA justices are posing tough and legitimate questions and your attorney can’t answer them or gives nonsensical answers to those questions. Still, I hope those conservative justices have as many anxieties over this nightmare as the rest of us bc they’re the ones who gave this lying, thieving, fascist/pedo/EpsteinBFF so much unchecked power.
The conservatives were not having it yesterday for the most part. I think it will be at least 7-2 against him. Even Kavanaugh seemed skeptical.
Thomas and Alito are always all in with whatever Trump wants. 😒
PBS has a great documentary on Thomas. Unbiased, but it makes it clear why he is so disliked. I believe it was in that documentary that Thomas said (once he was confirmed) he was going to make life a living hell for democrats. So much for justice being blind.
But even Alito was a tough sell yesterday; he was asking questions about how this could possibly be right from a humanitarian angle. When even Alito thinks you’re an inhumane ass, you’re in trouble
Kavanaugh did what he always does and very intentionally left the door open for Congress to destroy the 14th. This is why we need to make sure Dems have a majority in at least the House but hopefully the Senate too.
I can’t believe they tried that with Gorusch of all people on First Nation rights. Terrible freaking arguments that were just we are racist. No more babies that are not white. Doesn’t even get into American citizens born abroad. I loathe every legal scholar that argued for the government. Hope they all rot.
And someone correct me if I am wrong, but if a women who is in the US illegally gives birth on US soil, she cannot stay just because she gave birth. When that baby turns 18, he/she may return and then apply for their family to come to the US. That is at least 20 years. It is not easy and frankly, if they play the long game for two decades, they deserve that citizenship.
You are not wrong.
OMG, the Godfather II scene was the first thing I though5 of too. He is so predictable
David Simon [writer/showrunner The Wire, Treme] was weighing in yesterday from Bluesky [@audacityofdespair]:
With regard to our berobed and beshItted Justice Alito:
If the Founders had no capacity to conceive of illegal immigration, then they also had not the imagination to conceptualize automatic weapons.
Originalism is and always was a pathetic, desperate lie of miserable, ideological shitheels.
THIS
Trump and his toadies seem to think they can just go into court and just do the Ron Swanson meme of “I can do what i want” and the judges will be like “ok, go for it” the law doesnt work that way, even the consevative judges need a legal argument before they rubber stamp.
Pretty sure that at least one of Trump’s properties in Florida advertised in Russia as the perfect place to stay while having your anchor baby. But then, consistency is not his strength.