Did Amy Coney Barrett Betray Trump? Inside the Right-Wing Backlash

When Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court back in 2020, conservatives cheered. She was supposed to be the ultimate weapon—someone who’d help strike down Roe v. Wade and push forward Trump’s boldest legal agenda. And at first, that’s exactly what happened. Barrett cast the decisive vote in the 2022 Dobbs case that overturned Roe, and right-wing media hailed it as a miracle.

But now? The same crowd that once adored her is starting to turn. According to a revealing new report from The New York Times, Barrett’s relationship with her fellow conservatives—on the bench and beyond—is getting rocky. It turns out she originally voted not to even hear the Dobbs case, though her colleagues moved forward anyway, banking on her eventual support. They were right, but that early hesitation was a hint of the independence that’s now frustrating MAGA loyalists.

And that’s not all. In a string of recent rulings, Barrett has become the least likely conservative justice to back Trump when his policies land before the court. She even joined liberals to block a Trump deportation policy and helped derail his attempt to freeze $2 billion in aid.

Amy Coney Barrett’s Bond with Liberal Justices Raises Eyebrows on the Right

This hasn’t gone over well. Once seen as a hero of the right, Barrett is now being slammed by MAGA influencers as “evil,” “a DEI hire,” and worse. Trump himself is reportedly fuming behind closed doors, calling her “weak,” even though he still offers public praise.

Adding fuel to the fire? Barrett’s budding friendships with liberal justices like Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. They’ve exchanged birthday gifts, Halloween candy, and now—possibly—judicial perspectives. Barrett also tends to go her own way, even when she sides with conservatives, writing separate opinions that signal she’s not totally aligned with their approach. One insider called her the “Hermione Granger” of the court—always raising her hand to point out where the others got it wrong.

Now the FBI is back investigating the Dobbs leak, thanks in part to MAGA pressure. But the real drama may be unfolding within the court itself, where Barrett’s evolving role is putting her at odds with the very movement that once championed her.

Looks like Barrett might not be the rubber stamp conservatives expected—but she’s proving to be one of the few willing to occasionally check presidential power, no matter who’s in office.

It turns out that not everyone on the right is thrilled with Justice Amy Coney Barrett these days. A new analysis of her rulings suggests she’s been siding with the liberal wing of the Supreme Court way more than conservatives expected — and it’s sparked a wave of backlash from Trump allies and right-wing voices.

Barrett, who was famously fast-tracked to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump in 2020 just before the election, is now being slammed by some conservatives as a disappointment. In fact, critics say she’s taken a sharp left turn since joining the bench. The numbers seem to back that up: during her second term, Barrett sided with liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan 82% of the time, compared to just 39% in her first year.

Amy Coney Barrett Is Now MAGA’s Biggest Supreme Court Regret

Trump-world isn’t staying quiet. Legal activist Mike Davis has been especially blunt, calling Barrett “scared of her own shadow” and “a rattled law professor.” Conservative media figures like Mark Levin and Megyn Kelly have also piled on, with Kelly venting on her podcast that Barrett is just another “squishy” conservative woman who fails to hold the line.

A lot of the anger comes from Barrett’s votes in high-stakes Trump-related cases. Most notably, she was part of the majority that ruled against delaying Trump’s felony sentencing — a decision that didn’t sit well with MAGA loyalists. She’s reportedly the least likely Republican-appointed justice to side with Trump in personal legal matters.

But here’s the twist: Barrett hasn’t gone full liberal. She played a key role in overturning Roe v. Wade and was part of the conservative 6–3 majority that ruled presidents have some immunity for official actions. So, she’s still clearly a conservative — just not the firebrand some had hoped for.

Not everyone buys the narrative that Barrett’s “gone soft.” Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, a longtime acquaintance, says people on both sides are reading too much into it. He claims she’s the same thoughtful conservative she’s always been — not shifting left, just ruling on principle.

Still, the criticism keeps coming, and it’s especially bitter considering how quickly Republicans pushed her onto the Court after the death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the time, Trump called Barrett “fantastic” and predicted she’d make fair, law-based rulings. Now, some of his staunchest supporters are wondering if she was ever really on their side at all.