Trump, Biden React to Death of Ginsburg

From president, a 'titan of the law'; from former VP, an 'American hero' and 'relentless voice'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2020 6:00 AM CDT
Trump on Death of RBG: a 'Titan of the Law'
President Trump walks from Marine One at the White House on Friday as he returns from a campaign rally in Minnesota.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A "titan of the law." That's how President Trump described late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Friday night after learning of her death from complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 87. "Renowned for her brilliant mind and her powerful dissents ... Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable toward one's colleagues or different points of view," Trump said in a statement, per the AP. She was, he added, a "fighter to the end." CSPAN has a clip of the moment Trump seemed to find out about Ginsburg's death, as he walked back to his plane after a campaign rally in Bemidji, Minn. "She just died?" he said. "Wow. I didn't know that." After collecting his thoughts, he added, "She led an amazing life. What else can you say? ... She was an amazing woman who led an amazing life. I'm actually saddened to hear that."

In his own statement Friday night, presidential rival Joe Biden called Ginsburg "an American hero, a giant of legal doctrine, and a relentless voice in the pursuit of that highest American ideal: Equal Justice Under Law." But he had a further message on Ginsburg's eventual replacement as he spoke to reporters at New Castle Airport in Wilmington, Del., per USA Today. "There is no doubt—let me [be] clear—that the voters should pick the president, and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider," he said, echoing remarks made by other prominent Dems Friday night, including former President Barack Obama. "This was the position the Republican Senate took in 2016 when there were almost 10 months to go before the election. That's the position the United States Senate must take today." (More Ruth Bader Ginsburg stories.)

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