While Fox News opinion hosts gushed about President Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court, the set of “Fox & Friends” was a bit cooler on the idea.
On set, Fox News legal guru Judge Andrew Napolitano laced into Kavanaugh, saying he was “disappointed” in the selection.
“The Washington establishment, sometimes known as the swamp, wanted Judge Kavanaugh,” said Napolitano. “I am disappointed in the president because this is not the type of person he said he would pick. Justice [Neil] Gorsuch was. This person is at the heart and soul of the D.C. establishment against whom the president railed.”
“So you’re saying it’s a swamp pick?!” asked co-host Pete Hegseth.
“Yes!” said Napolitano.
.@Judgenap: “I am disappointed in the president because this is not the type of person that he said he would pick… this person is at the heart and soul of the DC establishment.” pic.twitter.com/Dygeg4zywi
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 10, 2018
It was a tough assessment from Napolitano, particularly on a program that Trump is known to watch regularly. The billionaire chief executive is a longtime fan of Napolitano and has been known to reference his legal analysis in public — sometimes to the judge’s detriment.
Napolitano took heat after the White House cited his March 2017 claim that Barack Obama employed British intelligence services to spy on Trump while he was a candidate. The insinuation led to a minor international incident at the time.
Napolitano himself is known to have met Trump during the presidential transition and even claimed to be on the SCOTUS shortlist.
As Politico reported at the time:
After meeting with President Trump twice during the transition, first in December and again in mid-January, the Newark, N.J.-born television personality told several people that Trump said he was on the list of judges from whom he was selecting a nominee for the high court. “He said, ‘Trump said I’m on the list,’” said a source who spoke with Napolitano shortly after one of his meetings with the then president-elect. “He’s been saying that since the transition.”