Faith and Freedom Coalition chairman and Religious Right activist Ralph Reed told attendees at the congressional portion of his annual Road to Majority conference that President Trump had called him the night before Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was nominated to fill the seat that had been held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Reed told about two hundred Religious Right activists—including MAGA-world vocalist Joy Villa—who had been shuttled via bus into a room at the Dirksen Senate Office Building after the conference’s kick-off luncheon that Trump had called him the night before the nomination and promised that he would be “thrilled” by his announcement to nominate Gorsuch. Reed also said that Trump invited him to attend the nomination ceremony at the White House.
“I was privileged to get a phone call in my house the night before Neil Gorsuch was named. And I was sitting in my study at my home in Atlanta and my cell phone went off and it said ‘No Caller ID.’ I don’t usually answer those because it might be a reporter, but for some reason I answered it and a woman came on and said, ‘Is this Pastor Reed?’” he told the audience.
Reed said the operator then connected him to Trump, who told him he was announcing who he would nominate to the Supreme Court the following day.
“He said, ‘Hey, I just wanted to call you and tell you I’m naming the Supreme Court Justice tomorrow night at the White House.’ And he said, ‘Are you going to be there?’ And, well, I said ‘I can be.’ And he goes, ‘Well, I think you should be.’ Because he said, ‘Without your folks, I wouldn’t be making this announcement tomorrow night.’” Reed said.
Reed said he asked Trump, “Am I going to be happy?,” to which Trump responded, “No, you’re going to be thrilled.”
