Trump finds out about Ruth Bader Ginsburg death after finishing two-hour rally: ‘She just died? Wow’

“She just died? Wow. I didn't know that. She led an amazing life,” he later told reporters on Air Force One

Donald Trump was unaware Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died, ending a two-hour campaign rally and then telling reporters: “She just died? Wow.”

The president had been speaking at a campaign event in Bemidji, Minnesota, during which he spoke of the power invested in a president by their role of selecting justices to the top court.

“That's why the Supreme Court is so important - the next president will get one, two, three, or four Supreme Court Justices. I had two,” he said.

As it was, footage from the event showed  somebody yelling out that Ginsburg had died but Trump did not seem to notice.

“She just died?  Wow.  I didn't know that.  She led an amazing life,” he later told reporters on Air Force One.  

“What else can you say?  She was an amazing woman, whether you agree or not.  She was an amazing woman who led an amazing life.”

Her death set of an immediate jockeying and dispute over who should select her repayment, Mr Trump or the winner of the November election.

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said he was ready to bring a vote immediately.

Yet Joe Biden said given how little time was left in Mr Trump’s term, the only fair way forward would be to leave it until after the election - something Republicans insisted in 2016 when Barack Obama was seeking to pick a replacement for Antonin Scalia, but the GOP refused to even have a hearing.