On Tuesday, Sen. Mitt Romney ended any hope Democrats had that they would be able to stop President Donald Trump from appointing a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who died last week.
S.V. Date, a senior White House correspondent for the Huffington Post says he’s not surprised Romney decided to join with other Republicans to say they’d vote on Trump’s nominee this year, even though four years ago, Republicans objected to a vote on President Barack Obama’s election year effort to fill a Supreme Court opening.
“Everybody is wondering how Mitt Romney could do this. This is something Republicans have wanted for years. This is the quid pro quo they made when they decided to support Donald Trump in 2016,” he says, of cementing a conservative majority on the court.
Date is the author of the book “Useful Idiot: How Donald Trump Killed the Republican Party with Racism and the Rest of Us with Coronavirus.” He was a guest on the ‘Utah Politics’ podcast and believes the rush to confirm a Supreme Court nominee could energize Democrats ahead of November.
“Democrats haven’t taken the Supreme Court that seriously as an election issue. Maybe having this happen so close to the election reminds them that elections have consequences,” Date said.
Date leaped into the public eye in August when he asked Trump during a White House news conference if he “regretted all of the lying” he’s done during his time in office.
S.V. Date on Twitter: @svdate
Listen to the full interview below.
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