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US President Trump on Friday evening at Bemidji Airport in Minnesota: Briefly dismayed
Photo: Evan Vucci / AP
When he learned of the death of the legendary US constitutional judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday evening after an election campaign appearance, Donald Trump was presidential and dismayed for a brief moment: "Whether you agreed or not, she was a unique woman, a unique life lived, "he said in front of TV cameras.
A few hours later, Trump shows himself again as a power politician.
As usual, the US President used Twitter to make it clear that there would be no grace period in the political dispute over the successor to the liberal Bader Ginsburg - especially not until after the upcoming election in a few weeks.
"We were placed in this position of power and importance in order to make decisions for the people who have so proudly elected us," wrote Trump to his Republican comrades in the Grand Ole Party, GOP.
One of the most important decisions is considered to be the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States.
The replacement of the vacant position of Ginsburg will take place quickly, he indicated: "We have this obligation, without delay!"
However, he did not go so far as to announce that he would nominate a candidate for the time being.
Supreme Court justices are proposed by the incumbent President and then approved by the Senate.
The Republicans there currently have a majority of 53 of the 100 votes.
However, it is not certain that all Republican senators will support the replacement before the next president's next term.
That could explain why Trump first addressed the Republicans with his tweet instead of saying directly whether he would actually push a nomination.
Trump's term of office runs until January 20th, with elections on November 3rd.
Should the Republicans fill the vacant position with a candidate nominated by Trump, the conservative majority in the Supreme Court could be cemented for decades, the appointment is for life.
Of the nine judges, three are now clearly assigned to the liberal camp.
Ginsburg was considered the most prominent representative of the liberal wing.
Trump has appointed the conservative constitutional judges Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh during his tenure so far.
In particular, Kavanaugh's appeal was highly controversial in the 1980s because of allegations of sexual assault.
The US Supreme Court often has the final say on questions of principle.
In the coming years, the Supreme Court could, among other things, address the right to abortion, which many conservatives have wanted to overturn for years.
President Barack Obama's health care reform will almost certainly end up in the Supreme Court again.
Trump's predecessor warned in a statement on Saturday to be prudent.
It is part of the legal principles - and everyday fairness - that rules are applied with sustainability, not according to what seems convenient or advantageous at the moment, wrote Obama: "The legitimation of the courts, the law, the fundamental processes of our democracy, they all depend on this principle ".
Obama was referring to the last power struggle for a post in the Supreme Court. In 2016, the Republicans prevented the appointment of Obama's candidate Merrick Garland.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell argued at the time that such politically motivated decisions should not be made in an election year.
McConnell has apparently given up on this stance: "The candidate nominated by President Trump will get a vote in the United States Senate," said the Republican majority leader just hours after Ginsburg's death.
The Democrats, still angry about the 2016 blockade, insisted that Ginsburg's successor should not be settled until the next term in office.
"Without a doubt, the voters should choose the president, and the president should propose the judge to the Senate," said Trump's challenger Joe Biden.
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bor / dpa