WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump paid their respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Thursday, joining thousands who are remembering a prophet for justice who persevered against long odds to become an American icon.
The casket is to be on public view from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. The president and the first lady attended the viewing outside the Supreme Court just before 9 a.m., when they were met with chants and boos from the crowd.
Throughout Wednesday, thousands of people paid their respects to the women’s rights champion and leader of the court’s liberal bloc. As darkness fell, the line stretched nearly half a mile from the court as people filed past.
Prominent visitors Wednesday included Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, along with former President Bill Clinton, who appointed Ginsburg to the court in 1993, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom Ginsburg had hoped would name her successor.
Ginsburg’s death has added another layer of tumult to an already chaotic election year. Trump and Senate Republicans are plowing ahead with plans to have a new justice on the bench, perhaps before the Nov. 3 election.