Trump plans to attend Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

April 1, 2026 1:26 AM ET


WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sit in on Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation's highest court. The Republican president's official schedule, sent out by the White House, included a stop at the Supreme Court, where justices will hear Trump's appeal of a lower court ruling that struck down his executive order limiting birthright citizenship.

The order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term, declared that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. It's an about-face from the long-standing view that the Constitution's 14th Amendment and federal law since 1940 confer citizenship to everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions.

It's not the first time Trump has considered showing up for a high court hearing. Last year, Trump said that he badly wanted to attend a hearing on whether he overstepped federal law with his sweeping tariffs, but he decided against it, saying it would have been a distraction.

On Tuesday, however, Trump seemed more sure he'd be in court for Wednesday's hearing while he spoke with reporters in the Oval Office. "I'm going," Trump said, when the upcoming arguments in the birthright citizenship case were mentioned. To a follow-up question clarifying that he planned to go in person, Trump said, "I think so, I do believe."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/01/g-s1-116019/trump-attend-supreme-court-birthright-citizenship

[Captain Zero]

1. Watch his fat ass fall asleep

nt

[SunSeeker]

2. Trying to work the refs. Despicable.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. He won't understand any of it. Either will be posting on TS or will fall asleep.

And I hope that Justice Brown Jackson brings up in orals a "hypothetical" question about would a boy, born to a mother, who had not realized her naturalization at the time of his birth. and his father is an American citizen, should not be recognized as an American citizen and be legally regarded than an "anchor baby". No exceptions for the fame and notoriety of his parents. And would expulsion be retroactive?

[Botany]

13. I have a friend who was a landscape customer of mine who is a very good attorney and one of his cases he

Last edited Wed Apr 1, 2026, 09:41 AM - Edit history (1)

…. had won made it up to the SCOTUS but he did not argue the case himself. He told me that is a very
specific type of practice and very technical and in a very short period of time in front of the Supreme
Court’s judges so he brought in a lawyer whose practice included arguing in front of the S. Court. Trump
will be able to follow what is going on and the Constitutional questions in play no more then I will get the Heisman Trophy this year for Ohio U.

Btw I think as has been mentioned Trump will fall asleep.

[Auggie]

15. Rec'd for the Bobcat mention

[Tim S]

4. How will the Supreme Court deal with the Secret Service demands for covering the POTUS?

Given his popularity as well as it’s the first time a POTUS ever visited an active SC, the Secret Service will have their hands full providing protection.

[BaronChocula]

5. Not like he'll understand what's going on

So pretty much like any other day.

[Buddyzbuddy]

6. I would love to see Justice Jackson reprimand him for his awkward interruptions

sleeping, and gestures. *sshole can't keep his mouth shut.
He doesn't accept that this is an equal branch of government.

[C_U_L8R]

7. Every court needs a jester

It wouldn’t be April Fools Day without him.

[OldBaldy1701E]

8. I am more than willing to test that hypothesis. (n/t)

[Javaman]

9. is he going to bring his best glower? nt

[tanyev]

10. He gonna lurk behind all the Supremes while they're talking?

😒

[Bengus81]

11. Unfortantly we won't see any video of it, correct? No cameras allowed?

[FakeNoose]

12. Has anyone told Chump that he won't be allowed to speak? And there will be no TV cameras?

[JohnnyRingo]

14. I hope he brings Barron, Melania's anchor baby.

I can just see that intimidating scowl from the sidelines.
I hope the right wing conservatives feel insulted that he thinks he can push them around

[ProudMNDemocrat]

16. In the event there is NOT a Unanimous decision on the 14th Amendment,,,,

The Supreme Court will have nullified the legal citizenship of hundreds of millions of Americans born in this country since the ratification of said Amendment. That includes HIM as well. His father was 1st generation German and his mother from Scotland.

The 14th Amendment is very specific. It makes NO mention of the Immigration status of the parent(s) of when a child is born. I doubt the Supreme Court is going to side with TACO on this. lest they declare themselves ILLEGAL and NOT Citizens of the United States.

TACO Don is going to LOSE this case and BIGLY!!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. MaddowBlog-Trump's attendance at the Supreme Court's birthright citizenship arguments won't help his case

If his radical gambit is likely to lose, why bother with an unprecedented presidential appearance at the high court? There are two prevailing explanations.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-trump-attending-supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-arguments

Not surprisingly, Trump’s radical gambit has struggled in the courts, which relied on generations’ worth of legal precedent, but the Supreme Court nevertheless agreed to hear the case. Ahead of Wednesday’s oral arguments, the president decided to do something his predecessors never did. MS NOW reported:

President Donald Trump will be watching oral arguments today as the Supreme Court weighs whether the president holds the power to end birthright citizenship. […]

Trump’s presence at the court is significant. He will be the first known sitting U.S. president to attend oral arguments before the high court, according to the Supreme Court Historical Society.

By way of explanation, the president told reporters on Tuesday that he intended to sit in on oral arguments “because I have listened to this argument for so long.” (A day later, I’m not entirely sure what that was supposed to mean.)....

So why bother with an unprecedented presidential appearance at the high court? There are two prevailing explanations — though they’re not mutually exclusive, and both could be true.

The first is that this is part of a ham-fisted intimidation campaign: By literally showing up in person, it’s possible that Trump, who appointed a third of the court’s justices, thinks he can apply extra pressure to those who will decide the case’s fate.

If this is the goal, the president is likely to be disappointed. Unlike congressional Republicans, justices don’t want to be seen as obedient White House loyalists, and it’s easy to imagine Trump’s stunt backfiring.

The other theory is that Trump recognizes the fact that the Supreme Court won’t let him rewrite constitutional law through an executive order, so he went to oral arguments as a political tactic intended to deliver an anti-immigrant message — which the White House sees as more politically salient than other issues that are dominating the public conversation, such as the war with Iran and high gas prices.

“The big thing for Trump is to be seen putting up a fight,” Politico noted. “This policy — always a Hail Mary from a legal perspective — is as much about signaling to the president’s base as it is a serious attempt to change the law.”

Whatever the explanation, if the president expects his order to be upheld, he probably ought to start lowering his expectations. Watch this space.