One of President Trump’s greatest legacies is his transformation of the U.S. Supreme Court, securing a conservative majority that was supposed to rein in judicial activism and restore constitutional principles. But as many conservatives have come to realize, supposed to doesn’t always mean actually does.
Out of the three justices Trump appointed—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—it’s Barrett who has drawn the most criticism from the right. Despite being hailed as a solid conservative during her confirmation, she has sided with the liberal wing of the Court on several key issues, leaving many on the right questioning whether she was truly the right choice.
But Trump, never one to back down from defending his own decisions, reaffirmed his support for Barrett this week. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he brushed off conservative criticism and stood by her. “She’s a very good woman. She’s very smart, and I don’t know about people attacking her, I really don’t know,” he said. “I think she’s a very good woman. She’s very smart.”
President Trump on if he regrets putting Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the bench: “Look, she’s a very good woman. She’s very smart.”
“I think she is a very good woman.” pic.twitter.com/A1qM4kQpxo
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) March 10, 2025
Now, let’s be honest: good and smart don’t necessarily mean conservative. And that’s the real issue here. Conservatives didn’t want another “moderate” who would waffle on key rulings—we wanted a principled originalist who would stand firm against leftist legal activism. Instead, Barrett has cast some votes that have left conservatives scratching their heads.
Her ruling on vaccine mandates? Disappointing. Her position on religious liberty cases? Questionable. And her refusal to take up certain election-related cases after 2020? Let’s just say that didn’t inspire confidence.
Of course, Trump’s defense of Barrett isn’t surprising. No president wants to admit they may have made a misstep, especially when it comes to a lifetime Supreme Court appointment. But conservatives have every right to demand accountability. The whole point of a conservative majority on the Supreme Court was to ensure that the Constitution, not leftist ideology, dictated legal decisions. If Barrett isn’t going to uphold that standard, it’s fair to call her out.
Trump’s instincts have been right far more often than they’ve been wrong, but Barrett remains one of the biggest question marks of his first term. Hopefully, as more cases come before the Court, she’ll remember why she was nominated in the first place—because conservatives won’t forget.