US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) slammed the Supreme Court, calling it “incompetent” and favoring the “wrong people” for its recent ruling and striking down the tariffs imposed by his administration.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Our incompetent supreme court did a great job for the wrong people, and for that they should be ashamed of themselves (but not the Great Three!). The next thing you know they will rule in favor of China and others, who are making an absolute fortune on Birthright Citizenship, by saying the 14th Amendment was NOT written to take care of the “babies of slaves,” which it was as proven by the EXACT TIMING of its construction, filing, and ratification, which perfectly coincided with the END OF THE CIVIL WAR. [sic]”
He further said that the US Supreme Court will find a way to make China and other nations happy and rich, adding that while the court’s decisions are bad and deleterious to the future of Americans, he would continue to do his job of making America great again.
US Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs
Trump’s post came days after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which were imposed on more than 100 countries and were aimed at “making the country wealthy again”. In its ruling on 20 February (local time), the court struck down the tariffs, finding that he relied on a law intended for national emergencies to justify the measures. Hours after the verdict, Trump said that he had “other alternatives” to pursue tariffs and announced his plan to impose a 10% global tariff using a different authority. The 10% global tariff is in addition to the existing tariffs.
The 6-3 verdict marked a significant setback for Trump, reuters reported. The verdict provoked a furious reaction from Trump, who criticized the justices. His authority to swiftly impose tariffs on goods from foreign countries by declaring a national emergency significantly increased his negotiating leverage. The move also prompted world leaders to rush to Washington last year to secure trade arrangements, many of which included promises of billions of dollars in investment or expanded market access for US-based companies.
Did the US Supreme Court give Trump more powers?
Criticizing the Supreme Court, Trump said that he will be using lower-case letters for a while to mark his “complete lack of respect” for it. He went on to ridicule the court, adding that it had, by accident, given the President far more powers and authority than he had previously.
Elaborating further, he said that for one, he can now use licenses to do absolutely “terrible” things to foreign countries, especially the ones that have been ripping off the US for many decades. However, he argued that the court’s recent ruling prevents his administration from charging a fee for such licenses, noting that such licenses typically carry fees.
He added that the Supreme Court upheld other existing tariffs, noting that several alternative authorities are available, which, according to him, could be deployed in a more forceful and legally secure manner than the initially imposed tariffs.
Trump administration seek alternatives to retain tariffs?
According to a reuters report, after the court’s ruling, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and other officials would invoke other legal justifications to retain as many of Trump’s tariffs as possible. These include a statute that permits tariffs on imports that are deemed a threat to national security. Another provision permits retaliatory measures, including tariffs against trading partners that the US Trade Representative’s office finds are engaged in unfair trade practices targeting American exporters, the report added.
