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As episodes accumulated, from Trump's 2016 election campaign to his presidency, the man who sits at the helm of the federal judiciary says nothing.
Not to mention a three-hour replica of Trump on Twitter.
The series of surprising events – which showed Roberts' more daring side – showed how much Trump's relationship with the third branch had been devolved. The American judiciary has tried to be above the political melee exacerbated by Trump.
In a statement released Wednesday following a request from the Associated Press, Roberts said: "We have no Obama judges, nor Trump judges, Bush or Clinton justices. Extraordinary group of dedicated judges making their level better to make an equal right to those who appear before them.This independent judiciary is something for which we should all be grateful. "
This was not the first time Roberts had been invited to comment, but it was the first time that he had decided to go public. Named in 2005 by Republican President George W. Bush, Roberts did not explain his schedule.
Roberts worries about the reputation of the federal judiciary while the Supreme Court is sentenced to five votes to four on ideological and political grounds. The recent withdrawal of the electoral vote, Judge Anthony Kennedy, has aggravated the split and Roberts has already signaled his intention to try to mitigate divisions among the nine members.
The Chief Justice extensively discussed the independence of the judiciary in October after Kavanaugh's audacious hearings. Speaking to an audience at the University of Minnesota, Roberts spoke of "the controversial events in Washington in recent weeks," and then asserted the independence of the high court from the executive and legislative powers .
"I will not criticize the political branches," he said. "We do it quite often in our opinions, but what I would like to do, briefly, is to point out how the judiciary is – how it should be – very different."
Mr Roberts' statement on Wednesday was of another magnitude, stronger and deliberately reflecting the President's remark about the "Obama Judge".
The Chief Justice has often expressed his consternation when judges are appointed by political affiliation. He has also observed since 2010, with the retirement of Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, nominated by Republican President Gerald Ford, that it might be harder to convince the public of the impartiality of the judges of politics.
Since Stevens was replaced by Elena Kagan, nominated by Obama, and Trump's choice of Kavanaugh has been continued, the five conservative judges of the court have been appointed by the Republican presidents and the four Liberals – often relegated to dissent – by the democratic presidents.
With Kennedy's retirement, Roberts is now ideologically in the center of the field, and he may be inclined to protect himself from his own conservative instinct to stabilize the seat and avoid further polarization.
As he pondered the question of whether Trump's latest affront to justice should be answered on Tuesday, Roberts may have weighed how much he could provoke Trump. Roberts clearly concluded that it was time to defend the special role of the judiciary in American democracy.
The 63-year-old chief was probably not surprised that in less than three hours, Trump fired back in two consecutive tweets: "Sorry, Chief Justice John Roberts, but you actually have" Obama judges ", who have a very different point of view.It would be great if the 9th circuit was indeed an" independent judiciary ", but it is … so many opposing cases (on the borders and the security) are here and why so many of these cases have been canceled.Study them, they are shocking.We need protection and security – these decisions make our country dangerous! Very dangerous and imprudent! "
Roberts offered no new replica. And given the Chief Justice's aversion to the appearance of the policy, he is unlikely to give an answer any time soon.
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