President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on the Supreme Court of the United States, appearing to question the justices’ allegiance after they rejected his move to impose wide-ranging international tariffs without Congress signing off.
The dispute centers on whether Trump was within his rights to apply tariffs to a number of countries last year. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the policy by a 6-3 vote.
In its opinion, the court said Trump overstepped his powers by using an authority meant to be invoked only under a national emergency to justify the tariffs.
The outcome was also a notable setback for Trump because three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., and Brett M. Kavanaugh — did not side with him, signaling a rare break from jurists often viewed as sympathetic to his positions.
“I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country.”
Trump: The court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement far smaller than people would ever think. It is a small movement. I won by millions of votes. We won in a landslide. With all of the cheating that went on. pic.twitter.com/h4BtutQbV1
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 20, 2026
Trump’s criticism didn’t stop there. He later convened an emergency press appearance where he went further, accusing the Supreme Court of being influenced by forces outside the country simply because it ruled against his approach.
“The court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement far smaller than people would ever think, Trump said. “It is a small movement. I won by millions of votes. We won in a landslide. With all of the cheating that went on,” he complained.
The ruling arrived while Trump was hosting the annual Working Breakfast for Governors at the White House. In the immediate aftermath, he reportedly had journalists removed from the event as he reacted to the decision.
When reporters were later allowed back in, Trump appeared visibly irritated and told the governors in attendance that he felt ‘he had to do something about the courts.’
Tariffs have remained a central pillar of Trump’s second-term agenda. His IEEPA-based tariff program brought in about $133.51 billion in revenue across fiscal years 2025 and 2026 through Dec. 14, according to the latest figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
But the broad tariff strategy has also intensified tensions with both adversaries and long-standing partners, while contributing to sharper swings in the stock market amid concerns over the United States’ unpredictability.
JP Morgan has warned that the Supreme Court ruling could strip the administration of the ability to continue collecting certain duties and could even force refunds of money already taken in—potentially disrupting planned government initiatives that were expected to rely on tariff-backed funding.