President Donald Trump ranted about the Supreme Court over the weekend, specifically calling out two of his own appointees for ruling against him in a recent tariff dispute. He took to his Truth Social platform on March 15 to express his frustration with what he described as “bad and wrongful rulings” from justices he nominated to the bench.
Donald Trump rants about Supreme court
The president’s anger stems from a February 20 Supreme Court decision that struck down his proposed emergency tariffs on imports. The 6-3 ruling saw two of Trump’s conservative appointees, namely Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, who voted against his position, while his third appointee, Brett Kavanaugh, sided with him.
“The decision that mattered most to me was TARIFFS! The Court knew where I stood, how badly I wanted this Victory for our Country, and instead decided to, potentially, give away Trillions of Dollars to Countries and Companies who have been taking advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
Trump reserved particular criticism for Republican-appointed justices, claiming they feel pressure to prove their independence. “They openly disrespect the Presidents who nominate them to the highest position in the Land, a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and go out of their way, with bad and wrongful rulings and intentions, to prove how ‘honest,’ ‘independent,’ and ‘legitimate’ they are,” he wrote.
Furthermore, the president contrasted this with Democratic appointees, stating, “The Democrats on the Court always ‘stick together,’ no matter how strong a case is put before them — There is rarely even a minor ‘waver.’ But Republicans do not do this.” Trump did express appreciation for conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh, who supported his position in the tariff case.
The Supreme Court’s majority ruling determined that imposing taxes and tariffs falls under Congress’s authority, according to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Following the decision, Donald Trump reportedly called the Supreme Court ruling a “disgrace” during a breakfast with governors (via CNN).
Originally written by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
