Trump Lashes Out at Supreme Court as Under ‘Foreign Influence’

The high court handed Trump a landmark rebuke earlier in the day, ruling 6-3 that his tariff schedule was unconstitutional. The majority wrote that the president did not have authority under an emergency powers law to unilaterally impose such sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs. It is a stinging rebuke to a president who has made the tariff the centerpiece of his economic agenda.

Three justices dissented, earning the adoration of the president. “You gotta do what’s right for the country. You gotta do what’s right for the Constitution. That’s why I respect so much Justice Kavanaugh, Alito, and Thomas,” Trump told RCP. “They not only dissented, but their dissent is so strong.”

The administration intends to use that minority opinion as a cornerstone as they seek to rebuild its tariff schedule. Trump seemed to zero in on a single argument in that 63-page dissent. While the court ruled the tariffs imposed under emergency IEPPA authority are unconstitutional, Kavanaugh wrote that ultimately “the decision might not substantially constrain a President’s ability to order tariffs going forward.”

Trump promised as much. “The good news is, like Justice Kavanaugh said, very strongly, we have other ways we can go,” the president told RCP. “There are numerous other ways you can go.” Among those avenues is a 10% global tariff that he vowed to impose immediately as well, and Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1972.

The president was reluctant to say what he would do if nations that entered trade deals under threat of tariffs sought to renegotiate. He insisted that “many” of the deals he negotiated would stand, but admitted “some won’t.”

While presidents often bristle under judicial restraint, few have made that disagreement as personal as Trump. He will carry his grievance with him during the State of the Union next Tuesday. The nine Supreme Court justices, as per tradition, will have a front row seat to that speech in Congress, including those whom Trump now alleges acted against the interests of their own country.

“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” Trump said of the six justices who ruled against him. Notably, this includes Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he nominated during his first term in office. He said he was “ashamed of certain members of the court” but stopped short of saying that he regretted making their nominations. Gorsuch and Barrett, Trump alleged, were “an embarrassment to their families.”

When pressed for evidence, however, of malign foreign interest, the president was mum. “You’re going to find out,” he said when asked for additional details.

Until the tariff decision, a fundamentally conservative Supreme Court had given Trump wide latitude. And justices earned his favor before he returned to the Oval Office when they ruled that presidents enjoy substantial immunity from prosecution while carrying out their official duties. But all of that was forgotten Friday as Trump lashed out at the high court.

The right has heralded the successful nominations of Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh as a triumph of his first term. Each camewith the strong recommendation of the Federalist Society, a conservative association of lawyers and scholars. Trump has since soured on that society. Happy with the conservative majority, Republicans had hoped that if there were any more retirements in Trump’s second term, they could be quickly filled with like-minded judges.

The presidential rebuke may now linger in the mind of justices thinking about retirement. They will have plenty of time to think about it during his State of the Union. Trump said that the justices who ruled against his tariffs are still invited to the speech, “but barely.” He added that he couldn’t care less if they decided to attend.