Stephen King's Amy Coney Barrett Comment Raises Eyebrows

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (not pictured) during a ceremonial swearing-in event on the South Lawn of the White House October 26, 2020, in Washington, D.C. American author Stephen King insinuated that late liberal Justice Ruth Badder Ginsburg was in part to blame for Barrett, a conservative, being appointed to the bench.

Stephen King has garnered attention online after suggesting that the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's decision to remain on the bench until her death opened up the door for Justice Amy Coney Barrett's appointment.

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg refused to resign, and we got Amy Coney Barrett as a result," read King's post to X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday morning. "Draw your own conclusions."

Ginsburg, the second female justice appointed to the Supreme Court in U.S. history, was a champion for women's rights and equality for the 27 years she served on the High Court. The liberal justice died in September 2020 at the age of 87, opening up the opportunity for former President Donald Trump to fill her position weeks before the 2020 presidential election.

Trump nominated Barrett, a social conservative justice, who was sworn into the bench in October 2020. Barrett has sided with the High Court's conservative majority on a number of controversial cases, including the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and the Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council last week.

King's statement to X, which at the time of publication had over 1.2 million views, was met with skepticism by several users, including one by the username "cooperstreaming," who wrote in response, "I'm so exhausted with people blaming RBG when we would still have a conservative majority and the real issue that caused this was putting Trump in office in the first place."

"But sure find a woman who did more for women's rights than most people in America ever did & blame he," the user added.

"I'm disappointed in you," added American scientist and activist Rebekah Jones. "Blaming two women for the laws written by men? Really?"

Another user quipped, "That a boy Stephen, stir that pot."

Newsweek sent an email to the Supreme Court's Public Information Office for comment.

Some legal experts had called on Ginsburg to step down from the Supreme Court during former President Barack Obama's time in office so that a Democrat could appoint her replacement. In the 2014 midterms, however, Republicans took control of the Senate, which is in charge of confirming presidents' nominees to the High Court.

The GOP Senate majority interrupted Obama from implementing a liberal-majority court in 2016 when the death of the late Justice Antonin Scalia gave the former president a chance to appoint a new justice. Obama had named now-Attorney General Merrick Garland, but the confirmation was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said that the open justice slot should be filled by the winner of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump went on to beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in November 2015.

Democratic commentator Kaivan Shroff responded to King's comment, "Ah yes, we all remember Merrick Garland's SCOTUS confirmation hearing well...oh wait."

Ginsburg had dismissed calls for her to retire for several years before her death. In an interview with the New York Times published a few days after she passed, Ginsburg's daughter, Jane, told the paper, "I think that mother, like many others, expected that Hillary Clinton would win the nomination and the presidency, and she wanted the first female president to name her successor."

Civil rights attorney Andrew Laufer also responded to King's post to X and agreed with the author's take on Ginsburg's decision.

"Correct. Yet the most problematic justices on the bench are still [Justice Clarence] Thomas and [Justice Samuel] Alito," Laufer wrote.

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