Biden told the New Yorker that he intends to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land
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President Biden disparaged Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in an interview with the New Yorker and referred to him as a justice who "likes to spend a lot of time on yachts."
The New Yorker asked the president during an interview if he believed the Supreme Court would apply the legal rationale in the Dobbs case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, to same-sex marriage, "the decriminalization of homosexuality," and contraception access.
Thomas raised the possibility in his concurring opinion in the Dobbs ruling. Biden told The New Yorker that he didn't think the Supreme Court majority would go there.
"I think that a couple on the Court would go considerably further," Biden told the New Yorker, specifically, "the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts."
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and President Joe Biden. (Left: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Right: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))
JUSTICE THOMAS DEFENDS TRIPS TAKEN WITH ‘DEAREST FRIENDS’ AFTER REPORTS SAY HE ACCEPTED GIFTS
The New Yorker's reporter asked Biden if he was referring to Justice Thomas and wrote that the president "grinned" at the question.
The president also said during the rare media interview that he wanted to pass Roe v. Wade "as the law of the land" and said Democrats would need to gain more seats in Congress.
"I’ve never been supportive of, you know, ‘It’s my body, I can do what I want with it.’ But I have been supportive of the notion that this is probably the most rational allocation of responsibility that all the major religions have signed on and debated over the last thousand years," Biden said, explaining his position.
A ProPublica report from 2023 said Thomas took luxury trips on yachts and private jets owned by Texas businessman Harlan Crow without reporting them on financial disclosure forms. A 2019 trip to Indonesia, the story detailed, could have cost more than $500,000 had Thomas chartered the plane and yacht himself, the report said.
President Joe Biden speaks during the United Auto Workers union conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., on January 24, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Supreme Court justices are required to file annual financial disclosure reports, which ask them about gifts they've received.
The magazine noted the politics of abortion have been historically difficult for the president. An aide told the New Yorker it's always been a "hard issue" for Biden, as someone who the president said was "not big" on abortion.
"But it became a very easy issue for him because of the Supreme Court," the aide said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks to the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Supreme Court agreed to review whether former President Trump was immune from prosecution in the federal election interference case last week.
The justices have fast-tracked the appeal, and will hear oral arguments in late April, with a ruling on the merits expected by late June. Trump's criminal trial has been put on hold pending resolution of the matter.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Trump could not be removed from the 2024 primary ballot in Colorado.
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
