Trump calls Supreme Court striking down affirmative action ‘great day for America’
Mabinty Quarshie
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Former President Donald Trump became the latest 2024 presidential candidate to celebrate the Supreme Court‘s ruling on Thursday striking down the use of the consideration of race in college admissions, otherwise known as affirmative action. The ruling is a victory for the nonprofit group Students for Fair Admissions, which brought the two cases before the high court over affirmative action at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina.
“This is a great day for America. People with extraordinary ability and everything else necessary for success, including future greatness for our Country, are finally being rewarded,” Trump said in a statement and on his social media platform Truth Social. “This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing. It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world. Our greatest minds must be cherished and that’s what this wonderful day has brought. We’re going back to all merit-based — and that’s the way it should be!”
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Trump may have been indirectly responsible for the ruling given the fact that he nominated the three justices who would tilt the Supreme Court in a 6-3 conservative direction during his administration. His erstwhile running mate, former Vice President Mike Pence, in his own statement on the ruling championed Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett.
“I am honored to have played a role in appointing three of the Justices that ensured today’s welcomed decision, and as President I will continue to appoint judges who will strictly apply the law rather than twisting it to serve woke and progressive ends,” Pence said in a statement.
Conservative activists have long worked to undo previous rulings, including the landmark 1978 case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which allowed race-conscious college admissions, arguing that the practice is discriminatory.
Other 2024 GOP candidates echoed those concerns on Thursday. “The world admires America because we value freedom and opportunity. The Supreme Court reaffirmed those values today,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said in a statement. “Picking winners and losers based on race is fundamentally wrong. This decision will help every student — no matter their background — have a better opportunity to achieve the American Dream.”
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Trump’s predecessor, former President Barack Obama, did not celebrate the ruling and instead emphasized how affirmative action helped students like him and his wife, Michelle Obama.
“Like any policy, affirmative action wasn’t perfect. But it allowed generations of students like Michelle and me to prove we belonged. Now it’s up to all of us to give young people the opportunities they deserve — and help students everywhere benefit from new perspectives,” Obama said in a statement.