Amy Coney Barrett Responds to Trump Criticism in Rare Public Remarks

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett swiftly declined an invitation to respond to President Donald Trump’s barrage of public attacks on the high court, saying she did not want to discuss anything the president had said.

Barrett spoke days after Trump sharply criticized her and fellow conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh for rejecting his attempt to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito sided with the Trump administration in the case, prompting the president to vent his anger in a series of social media posts.

“I don’t want to talk about anything that the president has said in particular,” Barrett said Thursday evening at an event at the University of Virginia, where she discussed her book, Listening to the Law.

Barrett’s response was in keeping with the approach taken by her fellow justices, who routinely avoid comments that could be interpreted as political—even when they are the targets of fierce criticism from a sitting president.

“These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves,” Trump wrote on social media this week, shortly after the court blocked his restrictions on mail-in ballots from taking effect.

“This Supreme Court is bullied and cajoled by the Radical Left into making decisions that have set America back at least a hundred years,” Trump wrote. He added that “certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats, and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America.”

Trump has repeatedly used social media to condemn the Supreme Court for rulings that have gone against him during his second term. In February, he lashed out after the justices struck down his use of an emergency law to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on most US trading partners.

Barrett and Gorsuch joined their colleagues in the 6-3 ruling.

Trump also took aim at the Supreme Court in a series of social media posts after its February ruling on tariffs, accusing the justices of “ransacking” the country and calling the court itself “incompetent.”

Barrett did briefly recognize the unusual pressures facing her and her colleagues. She attributed those challenges to broader, systemic forces—including the nation’s political polarization—rather than to any single person or group.

“I really think that the court can’t do its business with an eye towards the public opinion polls,” Barrett said, emphasizing the importance of judicial independence.

“At the end of the day, the job is to apply the law. … When you’re saying that something the majority wanted to do is unconstitutional, that’s going to be unpopular,” Barrett told the sold-out audience Thursday night.

“And frankly, it is the polarization in our country right now that means everybody will be unhappy with one side or another.”

Like other Supreme Court justices, Barrett used the public appearance to describe the ways she and her colleagues work to preserve collegial relationships and learn to disagree “well.”

Her comments came just months after Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan appeared before Congress to discuss a proposed budget increase for the Supreme Court. Most of the additional funding would be directed toward strengthening security at the court building and protecting the justices.

During back-to-back hearings in July, Kagan and Barrett told lawmakers that threats against the Supreme Court were projected to increase by 38 percent in 2026 compared with the previous 12-month period.

Barrett was a victim of a swatting attempt earlier this year, which she spoke about briefly during her testimony at the time.

‘As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high,’ Barrett said.