Jeers as Don salutes Ginsburg
President Trump paid his respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday as she lay in repose atop the steps of the Supreme Court building.
Crowds on the sidewalk yelled at Trump, chanting, “Honor her wish,” and, “Vote him out.”
Ginsburg, who died this past Friday at age 87, reportedly dictated to her granddaughter her “fervent” last wish “that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
Thousands of mourners and admirers streamed past her flag-draped casket until late in the evening Wednesday to honor the women’s-rights champion and anchor of the high court’s liberal wing.
The casket was to remain on public view until 10 p.m. Thursday.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany later condemned the crowd’s jeers.
“I think the chants were appalling but certainly to be expected when you’re in the heart of the swamp,” she said at a White House briefing.
Informed of her death last Friday, Trump had hailed Ginsburg as an “amazing woman” who “led an amazing life.”
Trump — who wore a mask as he attended Thursday’s remembrance with First Lady Melania Trump — also said he would wait until the ceremonies for Ginsburg are concluded this week before announcing his selection to fill the court vacancy.
The announcement is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at the White House.
Hundreds of Ginsburg’s former law clerks lined the Supreme Court steps Wednesday as her casket arrived and was carried into the Great Hall by Supreme Court police.
Before a private cere
mony for friends, family and the other eight justices, Chief Justice John Roberts lauded the jurist who became known as “the Notorious RBG.”
“It has been said that Ruth wanted to be an opera virtuoso, but became a rock star instead,” Roberts said.
Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, will lie in state Friday in the National Statuary Hall of the Capitol. She is the first woman to receive that honor.
A formal ceremony will be held for her but will include only invited guests due to coronavirus precautions over large indoor gatherings.
She will be buried in a private ceremony next week next to her husband, Martin, at Arlington National Cemetery.