No way to treat judiciary

This is an excerpt from an editorial that appeared in The Charlotte Obser ver:

Donald Trump’s tendency to question the legitimacy of the judicial branch has gone beyond inappropriate and is now a threat to American judicial independence.

It’s OK for a president to disagree with a decision by a federal judge. It’s a time-honoured tradition that was on display not too long ago when former president Barack Obama questioned the Citizens United ruling during a State of the Union address as most members of the Supreme Court watched.

Tension between the executive and judicial branches should be expected in a healthy representative democracy. But a sitting president referring to a federal judge as a “so-called judge” because he ruled against the Trump administration’s immigration executive order rips at the heart of the system established by our founders.

That was the tamest thing our new president said, or tweeted, on the subject. He took fear-mongering to new heights by claiming that “many bad and dangerous people maybe pouring into our country” because Judge James L. Robart put his travel ban on hold, as though Trump is unaware of the exhaustive vetting of refugees that had been going on long before his executive order.

Trump tweeted, “If something happens blame him and court system.” And: “What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban.”

It means our country still has sufficient checks and balances in place as a buffer against a man who acts as if he is the star of a reality TV show in which he can dictate all the action instead of president of the most influential nation in the free world.

Trump, the candidate, made tens of millions of American hearts flutter with his penchant to speak from the hip in ways previous candidates dared not do. It’s one of the reasons he won in November.

But as president, Trump must be better. He has the right to criticize any judge he likes. He shouldn’t undermine our democracy while doing so.