Updated at 10:56 p.m. ET
President Trump called Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a "titan of the law" in a statement late Friday night on her death.
"Renowned for her brilliant mind and her powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable toward one's colleagues or different points of view," the statement said.
Statement from the President on the Passing of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pic.twitter.com/N2YkGVWLoF
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2020
The White House has also lowered its flag to half-staff.
The news of Ginsburg's death broke about 10 minutes after Trump launched into a campaign speech before a large crowd at an airport hangar in Bemidji, Minn.
Trump continued on, for more than an hour, before returning to Air Force One, where reporters were waiting. As Elton John's Tiny Dancer played from the nearby stage, a reporter broke the news.
"She just died?" Trump said. "I didn't know that, you're telling me now for the first time," he told a reporter.
"She led an amazing life, what else can you say? She was an amazing woman — whether you agreed or not — she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life," he said.
"I am sad to hear that," he said before boarding the plane to return to Washington, D.C.
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The flag is at half-staff here at the White House in honor of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a trailblazer for women. pic.twitter.com/AFiMSoKfXI
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) September 19, 2020
