Barack Obama: “It's always great to see women setting a positive example as strong leaders on the court and in their communities.”

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.

I’m going to insist that we can do better than we’re doing right now.

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.