US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the Supreme Court of the United States, calling it “incompetent” and “ridiculous” after it struck down most of his earlier tariffs, while arguing the ruling had inadvertently handed him broader powers, including the ability to use licensing tools in trade policy.In a fresh reaction to the decision on Monday, one of several critical statements in recent days, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the court had “accidentally and unwittingly” granted him “far more powers and strength” than he previously possessed.
“The supreme court … 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,” Trump wrote.Emphasizing what he portrayed as alternative mechanisms, Trump said the decision allowed him to lean on licensing authorities. “For one thing, I can use Licenses to do absolutely ‘terrible’ things to foreign countries,” he said, but clarified that the ruling doesn’t allow him to do so. “According to the ruling, can’t charge them a License fee — BUT ALL LICENSES CHARGE FEES,” Trump added.
Trump also argued the judgment left intact other tariff pathways, saying they could now be deployed “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty.”“Our incompetent supreme court did a great job for the wrong people,” Trump wrote, while praising what he called the “Great Three,” an apparent reference to dissenting justices.The president extended his criticism beyond trade policy, warning that the court could next revisit birthright citizenship. “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,” said Trump.Further defending his stance against the top court’s ruling the US President said, “How much better can you do than that? But this supreme court will find a way to come to the wrong conclusion, one that again will make China, and various other Nations, happy and rich. Let our supreme court keep making decisions that are so bad and deleterious to the future of our Nation – I have a job to do.”The Supreme Court’s ruling invalidated most of the Trump administration tariffs imposed under emergency powers, finding that the statute cited by the administration did not authorize sweeping trade levies.
