Trump blasts ‘incompetent’ Supreme Court after tariff ruling, says decision gave him ‘more powers’
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump sharply criticized the Supreme Court of the United States on Monday, February 23, after it struck down his administration’s tariffs in a 6-3 ruling, calling the justices “incompetent” and claiming the decision inadvertently expanded his authority.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said that he would temporarily refer to the court in lower-case letters to signal his “complete lack of respect.” The ruling, issued on Friday, invalidated tariffs imposed under a national emergency law.
Trump says ruling gives him more powers than he had before
In his post, Trump wrote, “the supreme court (will be using lower case letters for a while based on a complete lack of respect!) of the United States accidentally and unwittingly gave me, as President of the United States, far more powers and strength than I had prior to their ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive ruling.”
He continued, “For one thing, I can use Licenses to do absolutely ‘terrible’ things to foreign countries, especially those countries that have been RIPPING US OFF for many decades, but incomprehensibly, according to the ruling, can’t charge them a License fee - BUT ALL LICENSES CHARGE FEES, why can’t the United States do so?"
"You do a license to get a fee! The opinion doesn’t explain that, but I know the answer!" he added.
Trump further stated, “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!)”
He added that the court “has also approved all other Tariffs, of which there are many, and they can all be used in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used.”
The ruling marked a setback for Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which targeted more than 100 countries and were justified under a statute intended for national emergencies. The court determined that the law did not authorize broad tariff measures.
References to China, birthright citizenship and alternative routes
In the same post, Trump suggested that the court could issue future decisions he would disagree with.
“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 s****s,’ 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.”
Following the ruling, Trump said he had “other alternatives” and announced plans to impose a 10 percent global tariff using a different legal authority.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other administration officials are exploring statutes that allow tariffs on imports deemed threats to national security, as well as provisions enabling retaliatory measures against unfair trade practices.
The 6-3 decision limited the administration’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs but left other trade authorities intact. The White House has indicated it intends to pursue those avenues as part of its broader trade policy agenda.
