Neil Gorsuch Goes on ‘Fox & Friends’ to Decry ‘Making Things Up.’ RIP Self-Awareness

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is concerned. The conservative judge Trump tapped in 2017 to sit on America’s highest court believes there’s a dearth of governmental literacy in the nation that elected a reality-TV-host president. On Tuesday morning, he took his case to Fox & Friends, a show that five days a week makes a concerted effort to breed the very governmental illiteracy paining Gorsuch.

“I worry today that I read only about a third of Americans can name the three branches of government,” he said, his voice gravid with the seriousness one might of expect of a Supreme Court justice who hadn’t just debased himself by appearing on the hyper-partisan morning show. “Ten percent of Americans apparently believe that Judith Sheindlin serves on the United States Supreme Court. You know her as Judge Judy. I love Judge Judy, but she is not one of my colleagues.”

Neil Gorsuch claims 10% of Americans believe Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court, a reference to a 2015 poll featured on this show yesterday, raising the question: Does Neil Gorsuch watch Fox & Friends? pic.twitter.com/XkPwIspC0t

— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) December 17, 2019

It would be ironic for anyone to take a guest shift in a disinformation factory like Fox & Friends and shed tears about a lack of proper education about how the government functions. But it’s an especially bad look for Gorsuch, who as a member of the most consequential body of decision-makers in American politics probably shouldn’t be appearing on a network concerned primarily with placating the president.

The irony didn’t end there. Gorsuch waxed about the importance of separation of powers and how important it is for the judicial branch of the government to hew to the Constitution rather than whatever pressure they may be feel from Congress or the White House. “I tell my law clerks I have two rules,” he said. “Rule one: Don’t make things up. Rule number two: When you’re in doubt, when everyone is yelling at you, begging you to do this and threatening you to do that, refer back to rule number one.”

“I like that,” said co-host Ainsley Earhardt, whose show is predicated on making things up and misrepresenting the Constitution in response to pressure from the executive branch.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch just appeared on Fox and Friends this morning, making a point to parrot the "Merry Christmas" talking point of the GOP. If he's willing to go on Fox and throw a shout out to Republican narratives, what ele is he willing to do? pic.twitter.com/doJ5BUEFQg

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) December 17, 2019

Gorsuch was on Fox & Friends to promote his new-ish book, the title of which, A Republic, If You Can Keep It, is a reference to an oft-quoted Benjamin Franklin line about the fragility of American democracy.