Justice Sotomayor concerned Americans cannot distinguish between presidents and kings

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Sep 16, 2025, 12:33 PM ET


Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday urged a greater emphasis on civic involvement and education, questioning whether some Americans had been clearly taught the difference between a president and a king.

Speaking to the New York Law School in Manhattan, the Supreme Court’s senior liberal encouraged people to get involved and lamented what she described as a lack of knowledge about fundamental aspects of American law.

“Do we understand what the difference is between a king and president?” Sotomayor said at one point. “I think if people understood these things from the beginning, they would be more informed as to what would be important in a democracy in terms of what people can or should not do.”

Sotomayor did not directly address President Donald Trump, nor criticism about his efforts to consolidate power within the executive branch. The Supreme Court is considering several appeals challenging the president’s power to unilaterally impose tariffs, fire leaders of independent agencies, and claw back federal spending approved by Congress.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/16/politics/sonia-sotomayor-presidents-kings

[twodogsbarking]

1. Dictator would be a better term. King implies royal, not royal asshole.

[markodochartaigh]

2. What percentage of the US

would rather be ruled by a strong king, especially if they thought that he was chosen by god, than a president elected by a population with whom they did not agree?

I know that in Texas it is more than a third.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Maybe she means her 6 Republican colleagues. /nt

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. Scary.

This is something that I learned in grade school.

[Elessar Zappa]

10. Oh, teachers still teach the difference.

People just don’t care. They want a king/dictator.

[Mysterian]

5. What the American people really don't know

is what it's like to live in a dictatorship with no Bill of Rights, no constitution, no due process, no courts with any real power. Republican voters seem to think it would be really great for them ------ and only bad for "the others" they don't like. What a nasty surprise they will get when they see what it's really like to be a resident of a country that considers them nothing more than a slave.

[FakeNoose]

6. I would suggest that before 1776, nobody knew what a "President" was

We had to show the world ... because it was time to make these things happen. And we did.

We had to figure out the concept of "separation between church and state." Our Constitution and the Bill of Rights started out as an idea, and not everyone was ready to listen. Even the idea of electing our own leaders was a completely new concept.

The three branches of government - executive, legislative, judicial - didn't happen overnight. It was slowly devised after many false starts over many years. It took a whole generation before Americans were ready to embrace the concepts of democracy and self-rule.

So many mistakes were made along the way. So many ideas were tried out and discarded for one reason or another. Justice Sotomayor is right ... a lot of Americans don't understand ... because they haven't been taught Civics properly.

[Justice matters.]

13. There were no fake partisan color teevee Faux-like right-wing propaganda

blasting LIES 24/7 worldwide now with internet tubes back then.

There were no WWII ended with nukes, followed by arms races that produced thousands of them (200 at once and life itself on this small planet would be back to unicellular beings deep in the oceans).

Civics curriculum should include instructive videos on internet tubes at least once a week that would also include footage of what it means to live in military juntas run by fascists like Putin. Plus all sorts of Historical content.

[J_William_Ryan]

7. Justice Sotomayor

has more important things to be concerned about, such as being detained by ICE for no other reason than her name or the color of her skin, absent due process, thanks to her fellow conservative justices.

[ananda]

8. Or let's not be so kind and say they do understand the difference...

and deliberately choose dictatorship.

I know what I think.

[thought crime]

9. Some of her fellow Supreme Court Justices prefer Kings.

Presidents serve the people.
People serve the King.

Four of the Supreme Court Justices are simply there to serve a King.

[Polybius]

11. Just four?

Out of the six conservatives, which two aren't there to serve a king? Amy and who else?

[thought crime]

17. Roberts, once in a while.

[harumph]

12. Americans can't distinguish shit from Shinola.

[LudwigPastorius]

14. Whaddya expect from a country where 44% of the population didn't read ONE book last year?

[lark]

16. I read almost every single day of my life.

Even my daughter, who is Ms. Athlete, always on some sports team, and who works long hours, reads some. She usually reads several books a year.

[lark]

15. Sotomayor better be excruciatingly careful with her health.

Things like this paint a target on her back and I'm fearful for her health and survival. Yes, I am a worrier, a few times more than necessary, but sometimes very right on.