Donald Trump stated that the Supreme Court justices he appointed who ruled against him are a shell of their original selves.
Posted by Strict Scrutiny, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
Strict ScrutinySep 15, 2026
Multiple reporting sources quote Trump's September 2026 Truth Social post describing the justices he appointed who ruled against him as "a shell of their original selves" (NBC says "previous selves"), and the claim matches that core assertion. The claim faithfully reflects the passage, which quotes Trump's words about his appointees.
The host relays this claim without endorsing it. It counts as passed on, not against the post.
What was said
… That's a T-shirt. That is a T-shirt. We gotta, we gotta get that T-shirt for ourselves, of the justices he appointed who ruled against him. He says, quote, "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court. They are merely a shell of their original." They've been, they've been body snatched. Uh-huh. He goes into the terrorist ruling that is causing all of this, you know, expense, as well as this election ruling that is destroying America. Get an attaboy for the concurrence? He does not. …
Strict Scrutiny · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. NBC News reports that Trump, in a Truth Social post after the mail-in ballots ruling, said Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett, the justices he appointed, are "a shell of their previous selves."[3]
Supports. Politico quotes Trump on Truth Social saying his three appointees, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett, "are merely a shell of their original selves" after the court blocked his mail-in voting limits.[4]
Supports. AP, via PBS, reports that Trump on September 15, 2026 attacked justices he had nominated for rejecting his mail-ballot push, saying they were "not the people I interviewed."[5]
Supports. Yahoo News quotes Trump's Truth Social post on Tuesday, September 15, 2026: "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves."[6]
Context. The Snopes fact-check on the Armageddon post and the Reuters AI adviser article do not address the Supreme Court remarks.[1][2]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Did Trump share post predicting Armageddon 'tonight'?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Trump says he will appoint a new AI adviser, without providing detailsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Trump clashes ahead as new Supreme Court term beginsnbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Trump's Supreme Court grievancespolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Trump attacks Supreme Court justices he picked for ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6Trump lashes out at Supreme Court justices, saying his ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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