Using racial profiling in immigration sweeps. Defying Congress' power of the purse. Firing independent agency commissioners. Today, President Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man: John Roberts.
Yes, this is all his fault.
But the Supreme Court’s acquiescence to an antidemocratic America didn’t start in 2025. In our latest cover issue, Pema Levy and Ari Berman trace the ways in which Roberts has been embedding white-dominant authoritarianism into the country’s source code for two decades. It's a defining look that charts how Roberts' promise to be an umpire, calling balls and strikes, was a lie.
We are watching a rigged game, and Roberts set it up. I hope you give it a read.
—Inae Oh
