Trump casts doubt on Ginsburg statement, wonders if it was written by Schiff, Pelosi or Schumer

President Trump cast doubt in a Monday interview on Fox News that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish was that her replacement on the Supreme Court not be picked by Trump, saying those words might have been “written by Adam Schiff, Schumer or Pelosi.”

NPR reported shortly after the news of Ginsburg’s death her dying wish was that she not be replaced until a new president was in office.

But Trump said he wasn’t sure Ginsburg really said that or if it came from Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee chairman and his chief nemesis in the impeachment fight, or from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) or Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). 

“I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, Schumer and Pelosi?” Trump said Monday during an interview on “Fox & Friends.”

“I would be more inclined to the second. That came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful … but that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe Pelosi or shifty Schiff … maybe she did and maybe she didn’t,” the president said.  

The NPR report was based on a statement released by Ginsburg’s granddaughter.

“My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” Ginsburg dictated, according to NPR.

Trump said Monday he could name a nominee to replace Ginsburg by Friday or Saturday.

Senate Republicans are talking about confirming a nominee before the elections, though it is not certain whether they will have the votes to do so yet.

Democrats have warned Republicans that if they they push through a judicial nominee before the elections, “nothing is off the table” if the GOP loses its Senate majority heading into 2021.