As President Donald Trump made his way out of Congress following his first speech to the body since retaking office in January, he stopped to shake hands with the four Supreme Court justices in attendance. While shaking the hand of Chief Justice John Roberts, he said, “Thank you again, I won’t forget it,” then slapped the chief on the back.
Roberts is the author of the decision in Trump v. United States, which in July 2024 made it possible for Trump to win the White House in November. The decision granted presidents absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, and, in doing so, postponed Trump’s prosecution for trying to overturn the 2020 election long enough for him to win the election, putting him in the Oval Office and thus beyond the reach of prosecutors.
Roberts gave Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card, and Trump is grateful.
Trump’s appreciation is now Roberts’ legacy. It reveals what the court under his leadership has become: an arm of the Republican Party undermining democratic institutions and raising the president — really, this president — to the level of a monarch.
The decision in Trump v. U.S. effectively insulated the presidency from accountability for illegal acts, top to bottom. It freed the president to direct subordinates to commit illegal acts — so long as they can be categorized as related to official duties — and then pardon them, preemptively if need be.
“Thank you again, I won’t forget it,” President Donald Trump said to Chief Justice John Roberts after his speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4. Win McNamee via Getty Images
This was only the latest in a stream of decisions that have benefited Republicans, and whose benefits have trickled down to Trump and his attempt to remake U.S. government to his liking. The 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission enabled billionaires and corporations to spend unlimited sums on elections, and subsequent decisions further loosened contribution limits for the wealthy. These donations made up the majority of contributions supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Roberts’ 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted the Voting Rights Act, making it easier for Republicans to suppress certain voters who align with Democrats. And the 2019 decision in Rucho v. Common Cause removed federal courts’ ability to rule on partisan gerrymandering cases.
Roberts and the conservatives on the court may have said they were writing the decision in Trump v. U.S. “for history,” as Justice Neil Gorsuch said during arguments in that case, but the real effect of it was to help a Republican candidate for president — one who had already attempted a coup — to stay in power, stay out of jail and win election.
In Trump’s eyes, Roberts’ decision goes much further than simply helping him win office. It contains a vision of an unbounded executive with the ability to direct the entire executive branch as the president pleases to launch investigations, not enforce laws, dissolve agencies and ignore Congress and the courts. Trump and the lawyers in his administration are working toward that vision.
All of Trump’s unlawful actions since taking office must be seen through the lens of Roberts’ decision in Trump v. U.S. The Trump administration believes that the court’s conservative supermajority has blessed an autocratic executive and that, while the justices have not officially ruled on many of his unconstitutional and illegal acts, they will in due time.
Whatever decisions are forthcoming from the court on Trump’s unlawful administration are now tainted by Trump’s gratitude to Roberts. He ripped the mask off the court’s pretensions to fairness and independence and revealed his most vital accomplice.
Thank you, we won’t forget it.
