Donald Trump Jr mocked for trying to troll Ketanji Brown Jackson: ‘1+1=??? I have no idea what the answer is’

Ex-president’s son reacts as judge avoids holding forth on areas outside her expertise

Donald Trump Jr was quickly panned after the former president’s son attempted to weigh in on the third day of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings.

The tweet, which appears to mock Ms Brown for declining to comment on questions that fall outside her area of expertise as a federal judge and lawyer, begins with Mr Trump writing out the rudimentary maths equation “1 + 1” but is then followed by a series of question marks.

“I have no idea what the answer is… I’m not a mathematician!!! #JudgeKetanjiBrownJackson,” Mr Trump writes.

Republicans have exhausted themselves this week attempting to put Ms Jackson on the spot, grilling her with questions that attempt to make the federal judge appear weak on issues around race and sex abusers.

On Tuesday, Sen Marsha Blackburn added another hot button issue to the list: what makes a woman a woman.

The Republican senator asked Ms Jackson, “can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?” near the end of Tuesday’s sitting.

This line of questioning stems from a recent fury on the right over the participation of trans athletes in sports.

Ms Jackson, who would become the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation if confirmed to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, responded calmly in a manner that judicial nominees before her have done regularly: she declined to answer, deeming it to fall outside her area of expertise.

“I’m not a biologist,” Ms Jackson said.

The former president’s eldest son’s confusing tweet seemed to be responding to this moment in the third day of the confirmation hearings, though this wasn’t immediately clear to those on Twitter who saw his tweet as a mathematical blunder.

In another tweet posted on Wednesday, one that seemed to be a more direct response to Ms Jackson’s “I’m not a biologist” remark, Mr Trump shared a picture of a shark with a caption that read,  “I have no idea what that is… I’m not a biologist!!!”.