#Trump mourns death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: ‘An amazing woman’

President Trump on Friday night praised the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as “an amazing woman” who “led an amazing life.”

Trump commented on the death of the liberal icon after delivering a raucous rally in northern Minnesota, where he repeatedly invoked the Supreme Court as a reason to re-elect him, unaware of Ginsburg’s death.

“She just died? I didn’t know that,” a visibly taken aback Trump said.

“She led an amazing life, what else can you say? Whether you agree or not … she led an amazing life.

“She led an amazing life. … She was an amazing woman,” Trump said.

As Trump was speaking at the rally, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a statement saying he would hold a vote on anyone Trump nominates to replace Ginsburg, potentially shifting the ideological balance on the court.

There would need to be 51 votes in favor of Trump nominee, giving Republicans an extremely thin margin. Two Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Chuck Grassley of Iowa — have said they would not vote for a nominee before the election.

In Trump’s rally remarks, he repeatedly stressed the importance of the Supreme Court as an election issue, unaware of Ginsburg’s death.

“The next president will get one, two, three or four Supreme Court justices,” Trump said. “That will totally change when you talk about life, when you talk about the Second Amendment … You’re gonna be stuck for 40 years, 35 years.”

Trump this month unveiled a list of 44 conservatives — including three Republican senators — who he would consider for the Supreme Court.

Trump said at the rally that his candidates for the court are “unbelievable, the smartest, the best, the absolute creme de la creme, right? The best minds in the country, conservative. They believe in the Constitution. Okay? Little things.”

Intense focus immediately fell on moderate Republican senators who could scuttle a nomination if they object, particularly Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial this year, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is in a close reelection race.

Trump’s list of potential nominees for the court includes Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

For years, Trump’s White House aides studiously avoided commenting on Ginsburg’s possible death during health scares, privately saying they didn’t want to appear to be “vultures” with such macabre speculation.