Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said there is likely no possible compromise between the left and right, according to a secret audio recording obtained by Rolling Stone.
The conversation was recorded by documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s Annual Dinner on June 3. The event is known for drawing right-wing activists. Windsor, who regularly records conversations with Republicans, attended the event under her own name but asked questions posing as a religious conservative.
In the recording, Windsor told Alito she doesn’t think negotiation with the left is possible if polarization in the country is going to end, but rather it’s a matter of “winning.”
Alito agreed. “On one side or the other — one side or the other is going to win,” he said. “I don’t know. I mean, there can be a way of working — a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised. They really can’t be compromised. So it’s not like you are going to split the difference.”
Windsor then told Alito: “People in this country who believe in God have got to keep fighting for that — to return our country to a place of godliness.”
“I agree with you, I agree with you,” Alito responded.
Alito, who has served on the Supreme Court since 2006, made little effort to respond in a neutral matter, instead making very clear his position as a right-wing justice.