Did Justice Gorsuch, Ever So Subtly Suggest He Thinks That Donald Trump is “the President” and Not “the Former President?” (Update: Probably NOT!)

A careful listener pointed to to the exchange in the oral argument at around 2:30-31 on the audio.

It’s not clear where the emphasis is from the transcript on the words “in your view,” but it sure sounded from the audio like he was throwing shade on the idea that Trump is the former President:

JUSTICE GORSUCH: I — that’s a whole separate question. That’s the de facto — doesn’t work here. Okay? Put that aside. He’s disqualified from the moment. Self-executing, done. And I would think that a person who would receive a direction from that person — president, former president, in your view, would be free to act as he or she wishes without regard to that individual.

Update: someone else responded to me that perhaps this was was a reference to Murray’s argument that Trump was officially disqualified as of 1/7 so at that time he wasn’t president. See also here.

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