For months, Donald Trump made clear that he expected the Supreme Court to rule against him on birthright citizenship, and on this, his expectations were correct. Earlier this month, a narrow majority of the high court ruled that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment means what it says.
A week later, however, the president apparently came up with an idea he seemed quite excited about. After seeing a Fox News segment, Trump alleged that there was a “birth tourism” plot unfolding in Mexico and published a message to his social media platform that read in part, “[T]he Supreme Court’s ruling is wrong. I will be asking for a Rehearing by the United States Supreme Court, IMMEDIATELY. This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision.”
The hysterics didn’t make a whole lot of sense, the high court’s ruling was anything but insane, and there was no reason to believe the justices would agree to a rehearing of the underlying case.
But as it turns out, that wasn’t the only problem: Trump publicly declared that he would “immediately” ask for a Supreme Court do-over, but as is too often the case, he failed to follow through and do what he said he intended to do. The Washington Post reported:
President Donald Trump pledged to “IMMEDIATELY” ask the Supreme Court for a rehearing … but the administration did not immediately ask for a rehearing, and the 25-day window to file such a motion has now closed. The Supreme Court’s docket shows no signs of any action.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The details matter, and even if Trump had sought a rehearing, the justices almost certainly would have ignored the appeal.
But I’m even more interested in the broader context and how frequency the president makes bold public declarations about his plans, only to back off without notice or explanation.
During a briefing earlier this year, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared categorically that Trump “does not bluff.” This was certainly in line with the image the president and his team have long been eager to convey to the nation and the world: When the Republican issues statements about his intentions, everyone should fully expect him to follow through.
Those who follow Trump’s actual approach to governance clearly know better — there’s a reason the “TACO” meme caught on — and the list of embarrassing examples that show the president failing to do what he claims he’ll do keep piling up.
In January, for example, Trump published a provocative statement to his social media platform, which sparked some confusion.
“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” the president wrote. “This Order is final and conclusive.”
The message raised eyebrows around the globe, since some major U.S. trading partners do business with Iran, and we learned soon after that Trump didn’t mean what he wrote and no such policy was implemented. Words and phrases such as “effective immediately” and “final and conclusive” proved meaningless.
A few months earlier, the Republican also announced he was punishing Canada (for airing a television commercial that hurt his feelings) by imposing an additional 10% tariff on its goods. A month later, it became clear that he had not followed through on this announcement, either.
The bottom line is unsettling but simple: The incumbent president often just … says stuff. Maybe he intends to do what he says, maybe he just enjoys making declarations that sound good in his mind, or maybe he tries to follow through but can’t find lawyers willing to go along with his weird schemes.
Whatever the explanation, let this be a reminder to everyone looking at his statements and wondering whether they reflect reality: Watch what Trump does, not what he says.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
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