US Chief Justice John Roberts Rebukes Trump’s ‘Obama judge’ Gibe

Washington: US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has taken the extraordinary step of rebuking President Donald Trump’s criticism of a federal judge. Trump on Tuesday called a jurist who ruled against his asylum policy an “Obama judge”. The President’s gibe provoked a stern statement from the head of America’s highest court.

Trump has defended his comments, saying Chief Justice Roberts is wrong. It is the first time the chief justice has spoken against Trump. “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Chief Justice Roberts said, BBC reported. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.” Trump responded on Twitter on Wednesday, saying the top justice was wrong and that “Obama judges...have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country”. It is extremely rare for a senior member of the judiciary to clash with a US president. Chief Justice Roberts’ Supreme Court colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a far more outspoken critic of Trump. (IANS)