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Justice Don Willett's Best Trump-Mocking Tweets

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on May 19, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Donald Trump released a list of 11 potential Supreme Court nominees yesterday. The list included none of the usual suspects like former Solicitor General Paul Clement. Indeed, Trump seems to have avoided almost all markers of "establishment" Supreme Court candidates. There is not a Harvard law grad in the bunch. What former SCOTUS clerks are included were more likely to clerk for Justice Thomas than the Chief Justice, or even Scalia. They're "Trumpy" of course, but they're not total outsiders. Then again, neither was Donald Trump.

One name stands out, though: Justice Don Willett, of the Supreme Court of Texas. Besides being on the highest court in the Lone Star State, Willett is a well-known member of the legal Twitterati and self-styled "Tweeter Laureate of Texas." From his @JusticeWillett handle, he's consistently mocked The Donald online. Here is some of his best work.

The Supreme Court Under Darth Trump

Most of Justice Willett's tweets are light hearted or connected to legal news. On Tuesday, he posted a photo of his daughter sleeping through a formal dinner, with the caption "@JusticeWillett took his daughter to a fancy, black-tie gala. What happened next will [not] shock you!"

But sometimes Willett gets a bit political. And those political tweets would seem to indicate that the Justice isn't the biggest fan of Donald Trump.

For example, when Trump announced his candidacy last June, Willett composed this Twitter haiku:

It turns out, the Donald might be naming Willet to #SCOTUS. Certainly that has to be somewhat embarrassing.

The start of Trump's campaign wasn't the only time Willet made light of the candidate, however. Last August, Willett tweeted "Can't wait till Trump rips off his face Mission Impossible-style & reveals a laughing Ruth Bader Ginsburg,"

Little over a month ago, Willet posted a quote attributed to "Darth Trump." "We'll rebuild the Death Star," it went. "It'll be amazing, believe me. And the rebels will pay for it."

That was, without a doubt, his best Trump tweet.

The End of the Road?

Willett has yet to comment publically on his inclusion in Trump's list -- on Twitter or elsewhere. And Trump, himself a prolific tweeter, hasn't responded to the jurist's tweets. But, will the embarrassing jokes mark an end to the Willett-Trump pairing?

Maybe not. Senator Jeff Sessions, one of Trump's backers, told Fox News that he doubts the Donald cares about the tweets. What's important is that Willett "follows the Constitution," Sessions said.

Afterall, when it comes to hypothetical Supreme Court nominations, no tweet is more relevant than this, from Justice Willett in May:

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