FnF News
Trump Says Judges “Aren’t Impartial,” Escalating Attacks on Legal System
By Khadija Khan | FNF News | May 29, 2025
PALM BEACH, FL — Former President Donald Trump intensified his verbal assault on the American judicial system this week, claiming that most judges are not impartial and suggesting that political bias is now embedded across the judiciary.
“Judges are supposed to be impartial, but that hasn’t been my experience for the most part,” Trump said on Tuesday in a post on Truth Social. “What I’ve seen is bias, plain and simple — especially from the so-called ‘Obama judges’ who were never fair to me.”
The comment is the latest in a long series of incendiary statements by the former president targeting the very legal institutions overseeing his mounting criminal and civil cases. Legal experts, judicial watchdogs, and bipartisan voices are warning that Trump’s continued attacks risk eroding public faith in the rule of law — and could provoke real-world consequences.
Pattern of Attacks
Trump has repeatedly railed against judges and prosecutors handling his numerous legal battles, often naming them directly and accusing them of political motivation. Judges presiding over his ongoing trials — including U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C., and Judge Arthur Engoron in New York — have both faced harassment and threats following Trump’s online statements.
In an earlier Truth Social post this month, Trump referred to Chutkan as a “Trump-hating Obama appointee” and claimed Judge Engoron was a “Democrat operative in robes.”
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, threats against federal judges have reached all-time highs, with a 241% increase in reported incidents since 2016 — a surge experts say correlates with rising anti-government rhetoric online and Trump’s continued accusations of systemic bias.
Judicial Experts Respond
Legal scholars are pushing back on Trump’s claims, warning that undermining judicial impartiality for personal gain is dangerous and corrosive to democracy.
“Judges are not politicians. They are trained to interpret the law, not to take sides,” said Laurence Tribe, constitutional law professor at Harvard University. “When Trump suggests that judges are simply partisans in robes, he is gaslighting the public and weakening the legitimacy of the courts.”
“Every losing litigant wants to blame the judge. But when a former president does it — especially with millions of followers — it becomes a threat to the independence of the judiciary,” added Maya Wiley, president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in a statement to FNF News.
Legal Troubles Fuel Narrative
Trump’s comments come as he faces four criminal indictments, 91 felony counts, and multiple civil judgments, including:
- A $454 million civil fraud penalty in New York (currently under appeal),
- A federal indictment over classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago,
- A D.C.-based trial related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election,
- A Georgia RICO case alleging election interference in Fulton County.
Each case has drawn courtroom restrictions and legal consequences that Trump and his allies have spun into evidence of judicial bias.
“These aren’t trials. They’re witch hunts,” Trump said at a recent campaign rally in Iowa. “Judges are supposed to be fair, but most of them are part of the system. The corrupt system.”
Gag Orders and Judicial Pushback
In response to his repeated inflammatory comments, judges in at least two cases have imposed partial gag orders restricting Trump from speaking about court staff or witnesses. Trump has appealed those restrictions, framing them as violations of his First Amendment rights.
Judge Chutkan, for example, warned that Trump’s statements could pose a “serious threat to the orderly administration of justice” and reminded defense attorneys that “pretrial release is not without conditions.”
Despite warnings, Trump continues to test the boundaries, prompting legal experts to speculate whether more severe measures — including contempt of court — might be used if he refuses to comply.
Republican Silence
Trump’s criticism of judges has drawn little rebuke from within the Republican Party. On the contrary, some GOP lawmakers have echoed his rhetoric, accusing the justice system of political targeting.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) told Fox News:
“I don’t blame President Trump for being angry. A lot of Americans don’t trust the courts either.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a staunch Trump ally and House GOP Conference Chair, recently filed ethics complaints against Judge Engoron and claimed Trump’s New York trial was “rigged from the start.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have expressed alarm that Trump’s unchecked rhetoric is leading the country toward a constitutional crisis.
“This isn’t just whining from a sore loser,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). “It’s a coordinated campaign to delegitimize the entire judicial branch.”
Public Opinion Split
Polls show that Trump’s strategy may be working — at least among his base. A May 2025 Ipsos/Reuters poll found that 58% of Republicans believe Trump is being treated unfairly by the courts, compared to only 12% of Democrats and 34% of independents.
However, trust in the judiciary remains higher than trust in other branches of government, according to a Pew Research Center survey. As of April 2025, 61% of Americans said they have at least “some” trust in federal judges, while only 44% said the same of Congress.
Still, experts caution that even modest declines in judicial credibility can have long-term consequences.
“Our democracy depends on an independent judiciary,” said retired Judge Lorna Schofield. “If people start seeing judges as just political enemies, the system collapses.”
A Long-Term Strategy?
Some analysts believe Trump’s attacks are not just emotional reactions but part of a calculated political strategy. By discrediting judges in advance, he lays the groundwork to challenge verdicts, delay proceedings, or use public pressure to influence outcomes.
“It’s not about one trial. It’s about shifting the Overton window,” said David Frum, a former George W. Bush speechwriter. “If you convince 30% of the country that judges are illegitimate, then everything — from verdicts to sentencing — becomes negotiable.”
With Trump likely to be the 2024 Republican nominee, and legal proceedings continuing throughout the election cycle, the country may be headed into uncharted constitutional territory — where campaign rallies double as courtroom rebuttals, and court decisions are judged in the court of public opinion.
Conclusion
Trump’s assertion that judges are not impartial adds fuel to an already volatile political climate. For critics, it’s a dangerous attack on a core democratic institution. For his supporters, it’s a rallying cry against a system they believe has targeted him unfairly.
Either way, the former president’s words continue to shape both the courtroom and the campaign trail — and their impact may be felt long after the trials have ended.
Tags: Donald Trump, Judicial Bias, Federal Judges, Trump Legal Cases, Rule of Law