Clearly and properly, the three 9th Circuit judges deciding the government's request for a stay did not consider the president's public statements imploring them to rule the "right" way. In their order, the judges correctly referred only to positions taken by federal attorneys in briefs and oral argument. But when the president insults and taunts federal judges in public, and suggests that they should heed his wishes as he might expect someone who works for him directly, he undermines public respect for the courts and the independence of the judiciary.