Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has not been seen in public since she underwent surgery to remove several cancerous lung growths back in December. The 85-year-old has cancelled all public appearances since then and has not attended any oral arguments before the Supreme Court, and rumors are swirling that she is either covering up a serious illness or is already dead. Of course, when she does pass away, President Trump will be able to fill her seat, fueling speculation that Democrats might want to cover up any near-death state on her behalf.
Trump has said that the next person that he nominates to fill a vacancy in the Supreme Court will likely come from the list he has already released; he shared one list as a presidential candidate in May 2016 and then added five names to it in November 2017. Speaking of Ginsburg's health recently, he said: “I hope that she’s healthy … I hope she’s happy … I hope she lives for a long time.”
Fox News didn’t help matters when it inadvertently aired an obituary graphic for the Supreme Court justice, an accident it claimed was due to a "control room error.” Meanwhile, the #WheresRuth hashtag has been trending nationally since the end of January on Twitter, helped in part by tweets from actor James Woods.
The only possible sign of her is a short video published by TMZ claiming to depict Ginsburg being ushered into a car, but the lack of face shots mean it could actually be anyone.
Media demanded answers about Melania Trump's whereabouts, but they're oddly quiet about Ginsburg.
Remember how the media responded when First Lady Melania Trump disappeared entirely from the public eye for a few weeks after kidney surgery? CNN even crafted a graphic showing a calendar listing all the days she wasn’t seen. Rumors began to spread that she had moved out of the White House or was in hiding because she feared her husband.
We may find out more tomorrow if she appears at President Trump’s State of the Union address. Some say attendance by Supreme Court justices is mandatory, but this isn't exactly true; five of them sat it out last year. Nevertheless, attendance would go a long way toward silencing the rumors.
As someone with a lifetime appointment to our country’s highest court, transparency is essential. Americans have a right to know if she is close to stepping down or passing away, Given that replacing her would be President Trump's third Supreme Court justice nominee so far and would likely create one of the most conservative Supreme Courts ever seen, it’s strange that the media isn’t looking into this more closely.
Perhaps she really is in recovery, but given all the buzz about her true status, if things were well, wouldn’t she want to be seen to put an end to the rumors? Shouldn’t those in her circle be pushing her to make an appearance or otherwise provide some proof that she’s in recovery so all this speculation can stop? The fact that there’s nothing but radio silence only seems to support the theories about her condition.
While we wish her well for her recovery and understand that it takes time to get back into your routine after a major operation, especially at her age, it has been nearly 60 days since she was last seen. It’s time for Ginsburg to either show her face and be honest about whatever is keeping her out of the public eye or resign.
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