Trump: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a legend
President Trump discusses his potential pick for Supreme Court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the race for the White House, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Top congressional Democrats are pushing back against President Trump for casting doubt on the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s reported dying wish that her vacancy on the high court be filled by whoever wins November's presidential election.
The president, in an exclusive interview Monday on "Fox and Friends," accused Democratic leaders of fabricating the statement, which was provided by Ginsburg’s granddaughter, according to reporting from NPR.
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“I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, and Schumer and Pelosi,” Trump said during the interview. “I would be more inclined to the second, ok, you know that came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff.”
Trump – who didn’t offer any evidence to back up his claim -- said later in the interview “I mean, maybe she did and maybe she didn't.”
Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chair and a frequent target of the president, fired back on Twitter a couple of hours later.
“Mr. President, this is low. Even for you. No, I didn’t write Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish to a nation she served so well, and spent her whole life making a more perfect union. But I am going to fight like hell to make it come true. No confirmation before inauguration,” the congressman from California wrote.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader and another Trump foil, also slammed the president.
The longtime senator from New York tweeted that “Just when you think Trump can’t get any lower, he burrows deeper into the cesspool of callous classlessness. Democrats are united in fighting to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s last wish: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
Fox News has reached out to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office for comment.
Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
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