In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, critics are taking aim at the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for not retiring.
One user tweeted, “In 2013, President Obama had lunch with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hoping to nudge her to retire while Democrats controlled the Senate. She wasn’t interested. Strangely, that decision led to today’s overturning Roe v. Wade.”
Another argued, “Just a friendly reminder: Roe v. Wade would’ve never been overturned if Ruth Bader Ginsburg had retired at 80 under Obama, giving him the ability to choose a liberal to replace her with…”
Columnist Scott Feinberg suggested Ginsburg was a “hero for many reasons.”
Still, he added, “But the terrible irony is that her decision to stay too long at the party helped lead to the destruction of one of the things she cared about the most. Sadly, this will be a big part of her legacy.”
https://twitter.com/ScottFeinberg/status/1540364132829933568
Others celebrated her decision not to retire.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh tweeted, “This day brought to you by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s narcissistic refusal to retire. Thank you, RBG!”
In September 2020, Ginsburg died from complications of metastatic pancreas cancer at the age of 87, as IJR previously reported.
Former President Donald Trump issued a statement at the time reacting to her death.
“Renowned for her brilliant mind and her powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable toward one’s colleagues or different points of view,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, a reporter broke the news to the former president.
“She just died?” Trump said. “I didn’t know that, you’re telling me now for the first time.”
He continued, “She led an amazing life, what else can you say? She was an amazing woman — whether you agreed or not — she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life.”
Trump would go on to nominate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to take her place.
Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett, all appointed by Trump, were included in the majority who voted to overturn the landmark decision.