Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in a newly released interview laments a lack of civility in the country while demurring on political questions involving President Trump.
Gorsuch told The Associated Press for a story published Saturday that Americans should remember that their political opponents “love this country as much as we do.”
However, Gorsuch had little to say about Trump, the AP reported, beyond noting that the president “was very gracious to my family” during the nomination process in 2017 when Gorsuch was tapped for the high court.
“If you’re asking me about politics, I’m not going to touch that,” he told the AP.{mosads}
Gorsuch has conducted a series of interviews as the 52-year-old conservative justice makes the rounds to promote his new book, “A Republic, If You Can Keep It,” which is slated for release Tuesday.
The book — a collection of essays, speeches, past opinions and other thoughts — aims to “say something about the Constitution, the separation of powers and the judge’s role in it,” Gorsuch told The Washington Post.
As one of the court’s most conservative members, Gorsuch praised federal judges who “believe the Constitution is the greatest charter of human liberty that history’s ever known,” the Post reported.
The AP noted that Gorsuch avoids personal attacks, instead taking aim at judges and legal scholars who prefer an evolving “living Constitution” as opposed to how it was intended by the Founding Fathers.
But there are reportedly few references to current controversies in his book, and in both interviews, Gorsuch refused to comment on cases that could come before the court or about Trump.
In an interview with the Post on Aug. 29 — his birthday — Gorsuch declined to weigh in when asked about Trump’s allegations of bias against judges who have ruled against him or his policies.
“They can do their thing in the political arena. I’m a judge. And I’m going to stick to my lane,” he told the Post. “You asked about what I think of judges in this country. I already talked about that, all right? Insert that answer here.”
When asked about how the Senate evaluates Supreme Court nominees, he quipped, “You’re not going to make me relive the confirmation process are you? On my birthday?”
Gorsuch’s book comes after fellow Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer have also authored books while on the court.