MAGAs, apparently feeling conned after believing Trump's deluge of lies on birthright citizenship, are so incensed after loss they are resorting to "crazy talk"

(AP Photo)

Members of Donald Trump's MAGA cult are on the verge of a collective crack-up after the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rejected Trump's attempt to unilaterally revise (by executive order) the birthright citizenship provision that has been enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution since 1868. Why are MAGAs so exorcised by a ruling in Trump v. Barbara that went exactly as many legal experts had anticipated. In fact, those in the know seemed surprised only that it was a 5-4 opinion (or 6-3, depending on how you view what might be called "Brett Kavanaugh's split decision"), rather than the unanimous opinion that was widely expected? We will examine that question in an upcoming post, but for now let's look at a USA TODAY analysis of MAGA's rage, which seems to be dangerously close to going over the top. Zac Anderson reports under the headline "MAGA is outraged by birthright ruling. Are drastic steps coming?" Anderson writes:

Impeaching judges, sterilizing foreign visitors, dissolving the union – some prominent conservatives suggested extreme measures could be called for in the wake of a Supreme Court decision upholding birthright citizenship.

That sounds nutty, but the MAGA faithful -- seemingly clueless about the law (much like Trump himself) --  apparently thought SCOTUS was going to hand the White House a resounding victory, even though the chances of that were virtually zero. It turns out that MAGAs have no one but themselves to blame for expecting an outcome that seemed possible only to those who believed the deluge of lies Trump spewed about the issue. Anderson writes:

The ruling sparked widespread outrage on the right, which has rallied around President Donald Trump’s push to restrict the constitutional provision granting automatic citizenship to anyone born in the country.

Many Never Trumpers (including yours truly) likely have thought the president's most devoted followers are nothing but a band of "fruits, nuts, and flakes (as they say in California). In the wake of the Barbara ruling, MAGAs seem to be doing their best to prove critics right. Get a load of this from the USA TODAY report:

Sean Davis, the CEO and co-founder of The Federalist online magazine, wrote in a social media post that there are “several ways forward” after the ruling. Among them: Adding more justices to the Supreme Court and mandating “sterilization of all foreign visitors prior to entry.”

Davis also mentioned dissolving the union, writing “A nation which can’t even restrict who gets to be a citizen isn’t a nation.” (I suggest Davis add this maxim to his quiver: "A nation that refuses to hold credibly accused pedophiles accountable, isn't a nation.")

Jack Posobiec, another conservative media figure, wrote in a post that "The court never said we can't mandate spot pregnancy tests for foreigners." Posobiec is a well-known loon, who has called for replacing democracy with theocracy and has ties to white supremacy.          

Many on the right lashed out at conservative justices who joined the majority decision.

“Impeach rogue, activist judges,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, wrote on social media. “We're looking at you Amy Coney Barrett."

Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly also slammed Barrett.

“I’m sick of Barrett. I’m sick of this bull***t by Barrett, I gotta be honest,” Kelly said on her show.

Not all conservatives sided with MAGA. Some said the hard-core types were out of line, Anderson reports:

The outpouring of anger on the right prompted pushback from some conservatives.

"The right-wing meltdown over the citizenship case is shockingly dishonest," wrote Gregg Nunziata, an aide to Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was in the Senate and now the executive director of the Society for the Rule of Law, a group founded by conservative legal figures from previous Republican administrations.

"The ruling preserves the status quo," added Nunziata. "The majority landed where most conservative scholarship has been."

Trump has pushed a hard-line immigration agenda centered around mass deportations, but targeting birthright citizenship may have been his most aggressive move. It clashed with how the Constitution has long been understood and sought to dramatically redefine who gets to be a citizen. Trump was deeply invested in the case, attending Supreme Court arguments, a first for a sitting president. 

The president described birthright citizenship as an “anchor” wrapped around the country’s neck, but Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said, "Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights − to freely participate in our political community.”

Even some prominent Republicans seemed unsure about where the party likely will go on birthright citizenship. Vice President J.D. Vance, long known for overstating things, engaged in . . . more overstatement: 

The loss had some conservatives lamenting about the path forward. Vice President JD Vance, appearing on Fox News, said the ruling was “disappointing” and a “major, major mistake” but said it had a “silver lining.”

It showed there is significant support among the justices for ending birthright citizenship, which Vance said is “hanging by a thread.” Four of the justices said Trump's executive order didn't violate the 14th Amendment, although one said it violated a 1952 immigration law.

"We have to keep fighting because we actually have an opportunity to reverse this decision, just as we've reversed so many bad decisions throughout the generations,” Vance said.

Steve Bannon, a prominent MAGA media figure, opened his podcast on June 30 by declaring it was a "day that will live in infamy" but said the fight wasn't over.

"You know what we’re going to do? We’re going to get up and dust ourselves off and we’re going to go to war," Bannon said.