Trump attacks judge

US President Donald Trump entered an extraordinary row with the chief justice of the Supreme Court, claiming “shocking” bias against his policies in parts of the judiciary.

He singled out the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, whose jurisdiction includes left-leaning California, tweeting that its rulings “are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!”

Earlier, Chief Justice John Roberts, who rarely makes political statements, rebuked criticism of the courts by Trump, insisting that the judiciary is “independent.”

Responding to complaints by Trump that judges appointed by Democratic presidents act against the current White House, Roberts told the Associated Press: “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.” “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. “That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”

Trump, who is on holiday in Florida, fired back on Twitter.

“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,” he wrote.

He said that “a vast number” of cases concerning his controversial priorities, like a harsh crackdown on illegal immigration, had been overturned. “Please study the numbers, they are shocking,” Trump wrote.

The row came one day after Trump criticised a federal judge who temporarily blocked the administration from its decision to deny the right to political asylum applications for people who enter the country illegally.