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President Joe Biden on Thursday said he thinks the current Supreme Court is "not normal" but called expanding the number of seats on it a "mistake."
“It’s done more to unravel basic rights and basic decisions than any court in recent history. That's what I meant by not normal," Biden said during a live interview on "Deadline: White House," explaining a comment he made earlier Thursday.
Still, the president stood firm against adding seats to the reactionary court that gutted affirmative action just hours earlier and overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
Nicolle pressed Biden on whether he’s worried the court might do too much harm given the majority is so young and so conservative. Biden agreed but he raised the concern about politicizing the court in a way that can't be undone. Of course, that ship sailed long ago.
Yet, Biden suggested some members of the court, such as Chief Justice John Roberts, might have been chastened by having the institution's legitimacy questioned.
It's true that some rulings this term could have been worse, which, to be clear, is much different from applauding them. For example, a bipartisan majority led by Roberts (who also authored the 6-3 party-line opinion striking down affirmative action on Thursday), rejected the fringe "independent state legislature" theory earlier this week but notably left the door open for future election mischief.
How much mischief there is to be had on elections and any other issue will depend on the court's composition.
Biden conceded during the interview he's an optimist. He may also be a realist, recognizing this split Congress isn't voting to expand the Supreme Court any time soon.
With the court's final rulings of the term coming Friday, including on the fate of Biden's student loan plan, we'll see how long the president's optimism holds.
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