Trump thanks ‘brilliant’ Justice Alito after Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump singled out Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for praise after the US Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling, struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana as “an unconstitutional gerrymander.”

The court, in a 6-3 decision powered by its conservative members, ruled that a Louisiana congressional map violated the 14th Amendment and was racially discriminatory against a group of white voters.

The court also limited how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision long used to challenge maps that dilute minority voting power and, in some instances, compel states to create majority-minority districts.

Justice Samuel Alito agrees map was an 'unconstitutional gerrymander'

Writing for the majority, Alito agreed that the map was an “unconstitutional gerrymander,” noting that the legal standard for using race in redistricting had not been met.

“Because the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the State’s use of race,” Alito wrote in his majority opinion.

“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander, and its use would violate the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.”

“Allowing race to play any part in government decision making represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context,” he continued.

Samuel Alito argued that the aims of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have been stretched by those seeking to draw districts along racial lines to gain congressional advantage, adding that Section 2 should apply only to cases of intentional discrimination, which he says is a “very high standard” to meet.

Trump thanks Justice Alito for ‘authoring the opinion’

Following the decision, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to celebrate the ruling as a ‘big win’, stating that “it returns the Voting Rights Act to its Original Intent.”

“Today’s 6-3 Supreme Court decision in the Callais case is a BIG WIN for Equal Protection under the Law, as it returns the Voting Rights Act to its Original Intent, which was to protect against intentional Racial Discrimination,” the president wrote.

“Thank you to brilliant Justice Samuel Alito for authoring this important and appropriate Opinion,” he continued.

The remarks followed Donald Trump’s enthusiastic reaction to the landmark decision, which he praised as “exactly the kind of ruling I like.” The president was addressing the press in his Oval Office when a reporter asked him about the ruling.

To which the president said he knew nothing about the ruling, saying he’s spent the day busy with the Artemis II astronauts and with “contractors, because we’re trying to get the ballroom built.”

“Tell me about what happened?” he asked the reporter. “Well, some think the ruling can create more Republican-held congressional seats in the South,” the reporter said. “That’s good!” a giddy Trump replied. “That’s the kind of ruling I like.”

Democrats condemn SC ruling on Voting Rights Act

While Republicans welcomed the ruling with great enthusiasm, it drew pushback from the Democrats, who believe it dealt a major blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

“The Supreme Court betrayed Black voters, they betrayed America, and they betrayed our democracy,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in the statement. “This ruling is a major setback for our nation and threatens to erode the hard-won victories we’ve fought, bled, and died for.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, characterized the decision as "devastating," saying in a statement, "The consequences will be felt across the country: fewer voices heard, fewer communities represented and a democracy diminished. Congress must urgently pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the full strength of the Voting Rights Act before this latest blow becomes fatal."

Former President Barack Obama called on Democrats to mobilize after the decision, saying it "effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities - so long as they do it under the guise of 'partisanship' rather than explicit 'racial bias.'"