Patricia Heaton slams critics of Trump’s SCOTUS list: They ‘wouldn’t recognize God if He bit them on the bum’
Outspoken pro-life actress Patricia Heaton slammed critics of President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-announced Supreme Court nominee, describing them as “people who wouldn’t recognize God if He bit them on the bum.”
Heaton, who starred in the sitcoms “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle,” took to Twitter on Sunday where she predicted that social media would “be filled with an onslaught of arrogant pronouncements based on breathtaking ignorance of religion in general, Christianity specifically and Catholicism in particularly by people who wouldn’t recognize God if He bit them on the bum.”
Friends, be prepared for social media to be filled with an onslaught of arrogant pronouncements based on breathtaking ignorance of religion in general, Christianity specifically and Catholicism in particularly by people who wouldn’t recognize God if He bit them on the bum.
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) September 21, 2020 Get Our Latest News for FREE
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While Heaton did not mention the Supreme Court vacancy in her tweet, her social media post came less than 48 hours after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Many on the left did not react well to the news, with Reza Aslan, who used to have a show CNN where he once ate human brains, threatened to “burn the entire f***ing thing down” if Trump and the Republicans tried to replace Ginsburg before the 2020 election. Similarly, politics writer Laura Bassett, whose work has been published by The Washington Post and Rolling Stone, threatened: "there will be riots. *more bigger riots."
Heaton also retweeted a Twitter post by Meghan McCain commenting about the threats to violence that have materialized after Ginsburg’s death. “No matter your politics on either side, no matter the issue, threatening violence and civil war makes you a deeply unserious, immature and reckless person,” McCain said. “Why would I listen to your political argument if this is what you’re resorting to?”
Heaton’s tweet predicting an “onslaught of arrogant pronouncements” displaying a “breathtaking ignorance” of Christianity and Catholicism likely reflects the fact that one of the frontrunners to replace Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett, has come under attack for her Catholic faith.
During her confirmation hearing to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., expressed concern that Barrett’s Catholic faith would hamper her ability to do her job as a judge impartially, telling her that “the dogma lives loudly within you.”
When Trump considered Barrett for the seat that became vacant following the retirement of longtime Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018, the criticism of Barrett’s Catholic faith resurfaced on social media.
Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, accused Barrett of belonging to a “cult” because of her membership in a religious group called “People of Praise,” where members had previously referred to their leaders as “handmaidens.”
In a later tweet, Painter expressed dismay that “'The 700 Club' and other fringe groups” had supported Barrett, warning that “a senate vote for her IS a vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.” Barrett is not the only judge who has had her faith questioned by liberal politicians and others.
In 2018, Trump nominated Brian Buescher, a member of the Knights of Columbus, to serve as a federal judge in Nebraska. His membership in the Catholic organization caught the ire of Democratic Senators, including Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., the 2020 Democratic vice-presidential nominee.
Harris, along with Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Buescher about the “extreme positions” taken by the Knights of Columbus regarding “marriage equality” and “a woman’s right to choose.”
Hirono asked if Buescher was willing to end his membership with the organization “to avoid any appearance of bias” and worried that he would not “be able to deal with reproductive rights and abortion issues fairly and impartially” because of his “membership in this organization.”
The concerns about the religious beliefs of Trump’s Supreme Court candidates have carried over into 2020. Even before Ginsburg’s death on Friday, leftist groups had issued dire warnings about the additions to Trump’s list of Supreme Court candidates, which he updated earlier this month. The atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation described the president’s shortlist of jurists as a “nightmare of Christian nationalism.”
The president met with Barrett on Monday. She is one of several female contenders whose name has been raised as a possible replacement for Ginsburg. Trump is expected to announce his pick on Saturday.
