GOP strategist says disobeying court orders could become a political problem for Trump

VPM | By Michel Martin and Ally Schweitzer

Published April 24, 2025 at 10:52 AM EDT

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House, on April 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump traveled to Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Easter.

Updated April 24, 2025 at 18:27 PM ET

The Trump administration is facing legal challenges to two of its signature policy priorities: tariffs and immigration. On Wednesday, a dozen states sued the administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade, calling its tariff policy unlawful and economically disruptive.

Separately, on April 16, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said there is probable cause to hold the administration in contempt for continuing deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, in violation of a court order.

Republican strategist Alex Conant — who previously worked on Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign — told Morning Edition that if the president doesn’t follow court rulings, it could lead to serious political problems.

“Well, I think if the courts, especially the Supreme Court, rules that the president can’t do something, he really does need to abide by that or face serious political backlash from Republicans, including Republicans in Congress,” Conant said.

Most Americans say the administration needs to obey federal court rulings, according to a recent Pew survey.

Conant spoke with NPR’s host Michel Martin about how challenges to the administration are playing politically.

Here are the main takeaways from the conversation:

On public opposition to tariffs:

“If Americans are going to [pay for tariffs], they have to have a clear understanding of why,” Conant said. “The reasons for the tariffs that we’ve heard from the White House are very varied. We’ve heard it’s for deficit reduction. We’ve heard it’s to bring manufacturing jobs back. We’ve heard it’s to put leverage on other countries. All these things cannot be true at the same time.”

On the political value of Trump’s economic policy:

“We’ve seen his poll numbers start to dip on the economy. Throughout his political career, his standing on the economy has been his bedrock,” Conant said. “If we see that begin to erode, he’s in real political danger.”

On immigration and political advantage:

“The administration feels like they’re on much stronger ground politically here,” Conant said, noting that Republicans and independents largely support Trump’s immigration policy, unlike tariffs. “This is clearly the issue that they want to be talking about.”

On higher education:

“There’s a lot of unease, including amongst Republicans with the federal government trying to put private institutions into some sort of federal receivership, dictating how private institutions should act, what they should teach,” Conant said. “We won’t always have a Republican president, and I don’t think we want Democrats doing the same thing in the future.”

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Michel Martin

Michel Martin is the weekend host of All Things Considered and host of the Consider This Saturday podcast, where she draws on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member Stations.

Martin came to NPR in 2006 and launched Tell Me More, a one-hour daily NPR news and talk show that aired on NPR stations nationwide from 2007-2014 and dipped into thousands of important conversations taking place in the corridors of power, but also in houses of worship, and barber shops and beauty shops, at PTA meetings, town halls, and at the kitchen table.

She has spent more than 25 years as a journalist — first in print with major newspapers and then in television. Tell Me More marked her debut as a full-time public radio show host. Martin says, "What makes public radio special is that it's got both intimacy and reach all at once. For the cost of a phone call, I can take you around the world. But I'm right there with you in your car, in your living room or kitchen or office, in your iPod. Radio itself is an incredible tool and when you combine that with the global resources of NPR plus the commitment to quality, responsibility and civility, it's an unbeatable combination."

Martin has also served as contributor and substitute host for NPR newsmagazines and talk shows, including Talk of the Nation and News & Notes.

Martin joined NPR from ABC News, where she worked since 1992. She served as correspondent for Nightline from 1996 to 2006, reporting on such subjects as the congressional budget battles, the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, racial profiling and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At ABC, she also contributed to numerous programs and specials, including the network's award-winning coverage of Sept. 11, a documentary on the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas controversy, a critically acclaimed AIDS special and reports for the ongoing series "America in Black and White." Martin reported for the ABC newsmagazine Day One, winning an Emmy for her coverage of the international campaign to ban the use of landmines, and was a regular panelist on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. She also hosted the 13-episode series Life 360, an innovative program partnership between Oregon Public Broadcasting and Nightline incorporating documentary film, performance and personal narrative; it aired on public television stations across the country.

Before joining ABC, Martin covered state and local politics for the Washington Post and national politics and policy at the Wall Street Journal, where she was White House correspondent. She has also been a regular panelist on the PBS series Washington Week and a contributor to NOW with Bill Moyers.

Martin has been honored by numerous organizations, including the Candace Award for Communications from The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Joan Barone Award for Excellence in Washington-based National Affairs/Public Policy Broadcasting from the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association and a 2002 Silver Gavel Award, given by the American Bar Association. Along with her Emmy award, she received three additional Emmy nominations, including one with WNYC's Robert Krulwich, at the time an ABC contributor as well, for an ABC News program examining children's racial attitudes. In 2019, Martin was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in journalism. She is the 2021 recipient of PMJA's 2021 Leo C. Lee Award.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Martin graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College at Harvard University in 1980 and earned a Master of Arts from the Wesley Theological Seminary in 2016.

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