As international editor, I have to decide which Donald Trump fights are newsworthy

It is true that journalists occasionally have to pick fights – the act of “speaking truth to power” can mean a battle to put information out into the public domain that someone may not want people to see.

Watching the president of the United States pick a fight is a whole different experience, however. It is something that has become a bit of a tradition during American holidays when Donald Trump takes his leave from Washington and heads to his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

There is usually not much on the president’s public schedule during these visits – as has been the case during this week’s visit for the long Thanksgiving weekend – leaving plenty of time for Mr Trump to think, and so tweet.

Earlier in the week, the president had clearly been annoyed by a federal judge’s ruling that blocked his recent executive order on asylum rules. Mr Trump had sought to stop those entering the US illegally from applying for asylum when on US soil, something the judge said was an overreach of the president’s powers.

Having made a couple of comments about his displeasure, Mr Trump has used his stay at Mar-a-Lago – where he clearly feels comfortable – to repeatedly rail against not just that decision but all rulings that have gone against his policies during his time in office.

As an editor it can sometimes be difficult to decide how much credence to give to his rants, as they are not an uncommon occurrence and tend to be repetitive. But a fight like this one is different. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, felt the need to offer an extremely rare public rebuke of the president, fearing the independence of the judiciary was being attacked.

That independence is a pillar of the American system of governance, and proves that it is always worth assessing the president’s spats – as regular as they are – for something that needs highlighting above the rest.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

International editor