Trump Finally Met an Adversary Totally Immune to His Bullshit

And it’s not the Supreme Court.

Switcherooney: Today I’m hosting the flagship pod and Tim is sitting in for me on the Secret show with Sarah.

Moving on: We’re going to talk about Trump’s huge vulnerability in a moment. But first I want to do a quick detour about last night’s Supreme Court ruling, because it illustrates the difference between an adversary that Trump can manipulate and an adversary that is implacable and immune to his machinations.

---

(Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

1. Abrego Garcia

I am not convinced that the Supreme Court’s 9–0 ruling that the government must “facilitate” the repatriation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is as encouraging as some people hope.

Why?

Because the Court is working under the assumption of regularity.

The Court uses a bunch of careful language to craft a ruling that a normal administration would abide by. The underlying assumption is: This administration is not lawless. They will respect the ruling and work in good faith to execute the Court’s order.

This stance assumes facts not in evidence.

What happens if the Trump administration doesn’t comply in good faith? What happens if the administration says, “Yes, we tried to get Abrego Garcia back, but Bukele won’t play ball.” Or, “We cannot facilitate this exchange because of national security concerns.”

How will the Court respond? It can’t make El Salvador send Abrego Garcia back. And it will have to take the administration at its word because, as Asha Rangappa notes, Trump’s interactions with foreign leaders are covered by executive privilege. If Trump says, “I tried but it’s not happening,” then what is the Court going to do about it?

The Supreme Court—once again—does not understand the reality in which it exists. And because it is delusional about its situation, it can be bullied, deceived, and manipulated to serve Trump’s ends.

---

2. Yield

You know what can’t be bullied, deceived, or manipulated?