Donald Trump, the President of the United States, made an astonishing personal assault on the Supreme Court justices who struck down his global tariffs yesterday. He said they were being “swayed by foreign interests,” and two of his own appointments were among them.
Trump told reporters at a White House press conference, “I’m ashamed of some members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the guts to do what’s right for our country.”
“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” he remarked, calling them “fools and lap dogs” at one point.
Since Trump took office in January of last year, the Supreme Court has mostly sided with him. The tariffs verdict was the first big loss for the Republican president in front of the conservative-dominated court, according to AFP.
When asked if he regretted putting justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, both of whom voted against him, the president said he didn’t “want to say whether or not I regret.”
He said, “I think their choice was awful.”
If you want to know the truth, I think it’s an embarrassment for their families that the two of them are together.
The 6-3 decision that Trump’s huge worldwide tariffs were illegal came from Chief Justice John Roberts, Coney Barrett, and Gorsuch, who are all conservatives.
Trump praised the conservative justices who voted to maintain his right to impose tariffs. These were Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh, who Trump appointed.
He hailed the three for their “strength, wisdom, and love of our country.”
Trump singled out Kavanaugh, who authored a 63-page dissent to the tariffs ruling, calling him a “genius” and that he was “so proud of him.”
The president also said that the decision was influenced by people from other countries.
He remarked, “I think that foreign interests have affected the court.”
“I think that people who I believe have too much power represent foreign interests.”
“I don’t know if it’s out of fear, respect, or friendship, but they have a lot of power over the Supreme Court,” he remarked.
When a reporter asked Trump if he had proof that foreign powers were affecting the court, he said, “You’re going to find out.”
Vice President JD Vance also spoke out against the tariffs verdict, saying it was “lawlessness from the court, plain and simple.”
Trump was also asked if the six justices who voted against him would be welcome at next week’s State of the Union speech to Congress.
“The president answered, “Three are warmly invited.”
He indicated that the others were “invited, barely,” and then he added, “I don’t care if they come.”
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