Following President Donald Trump’s 100-minute speech to Congress on Tuesday, March 4, he shook hands with some members of the Supreme Court and said a special thank you to Chief Justice John Roberts.
“Thank you again. Thank you again. Won’t forget,” Trump told Roberts in a viral moment caught on camera, as he shook the chief justice’s hand and patted him on the shoulder.
Though Trump didn’t specify what he was thanking Roberts for, it comes on the heels of a series of Supreme Court decisions that paved a path for Trump to seek another term in office with unchecked immunity.
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President Donald Trump greets Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts after his congressional address on March 4, 2025
Exactly one year prior to Trump’s cryptic exchange with Roberts, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the idea that Trump’s role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, disqualified him from running for president in 2024.
The Colorado Supreme Court had argued that Trump participated in an “insurrection” by encouraging rioters, thus making him ineligible to seek the presidency, as stated by the 14th Amendment. Colorado’s decision was brought to the Supreme Court, who ruled in Trump v. Anderson that only Congress can determine a candidate’s eligibility for federal office, not the states.
Then, in July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of increased presidential immunity in the case Trump v. United States. In addition to suggesting that future U.S. presidents are allowed to break the law, the court effectively saved Trump from being prosecuted for his alleged role in 2020 election interference and the Jan. 6 riot.
Related: Donald Trump Calls Student Protests ‘Illegal,’ Threatens to Imprison Those Who Participate
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President Donald Trump pictured in Manhattan criminal court on May 30, 2024
Despite Trump’s major Supreme Court wins in 2024, he learned of a minor setback to his White House agenda hours after thanking Roberts on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, March 4, the court ruled 5-4 to deny Trump’s request to avoid paying nearly $2 billion in foreign aid for work that has already been completed. Roberts granted a temporary delay on the payments last month, but he was part of the majority ruling in this case.
Trump loyalists on the court were “stunned” by the decision, particularly Justice Samuel Alito, who penned the dissent.
“A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance,” Alito wrote. “Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them.”
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