Trump hits back at Chief Justice Roberts

President Trump fired back at Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday after the leader of the Supreme Court rebuked the president over his criticism of an “Obama judge.”

“Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country,” the president tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

“It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an ‘independent judiciary,’” Trump added, “but if it is why are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned.”

Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have “Obama judges,” and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an “independent judiciary,” but if it is why……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018

…..are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security – these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018

Trump’s tweets came after Roberts released a rare statement rebuking the president earlier Wednesday, saying the U.S. doesn’t have “Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.”{mosads}

“What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them,” Roberts said in the statement.

The Supreme Court released the statement from Roberts a day after the president criticized a federal judge in California who ruled against his administration’s asylum policy.

U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar’s ruling prevented the administration from blocking asylum claims from immigrants who do not enter the U.S. at a legal port of entry.

Trump took aim at the judge on Tuesday while defending his administration’s policy. The president dismissed the judge, whom he did mention by name, calling him “an Obama judge.” Tigar was nominated to the federal bench by the former president in 2012.

His criticism of the judge came as Trump railed against the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is known for frequently blocking policy initiatives on immigration and national security from the Trump administration.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later released her own statement denouncing Tigar’s ruling as “another example of activist judges imposing their open borders policy preferences.” 

Tigar’s court in northern California has its cases appealed to the Ninth Circuit. Both courts are located in San Francisco. 

“You cannot win, if you’re us, a case in the 9th Circuit, and I think it’s a disgrace when people file — every case gets filed in the 9th Circuit,” the president told reporters Tuesday.

“That’s not law. That’s not what this country stands for. Every case that gets filed in the 9th Circuit, we get beaten and then we end up having to go the Supreme Court.”

Trump has long clashed with members of the judiciary on various issues.

Last year, the president sparked backlash after he blasted a “so-called judge” following the first federal ruling against his administration’s travel ban. Trump also claimed that the judge would be to blame “if something happens.”

Trump was also criticized by members of both parties after he questioned whether an Indiana judge’s Mexican heritage would prevent him from ruling fairly on cases including a lawsuit against the since-shuttered Trump University.