Trump announces new 10% global tariff after Supreme Court strikes down trade policy

WASHINGTON— President Trump on Friday lashed out at the Supreme Court justices who overturned his tariff agenda, calling them “idiots” who made a “terrible, flawed decision” that he plans to circumvent by imposing new taxes in a different way.

In a defiant appearance at the White House, Trump told reporters that his administration would impose new tariffs using alternative legal pathways. He described the decision as a technical rather than permanent setback for trade policy and insisted that “the end result will make us more money.”

The president said he would instead impose a 10% tariff on imports to global trading partners through a blanket executive order.

This harsh response underscores how central the tariffs are to Trump’s economic and political identity. He portrayed the decision as another example of corporate resistance to his “America First” agenda and vowed to continue fighting to maintain his trade authority despite the ruling by the nation’s highest court.

But Trump said the decision was “deeply disappointing” and called the justices who voted against his policy — including Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he nominated to the court — “idiots” and “lapdogs.”

“I’m ashamed of some members of the court,” Trump told reporters. “I am absolutely ashamed that I did not have the courage to do what was right for our country.”

Trump has insisted for years that his tariff policy makes the United States richer and gives his administration leverage to push for better trade deals. The economic burden has often fallen on U.S. companies and consumers. He repeatedly invoked them during the campaign, imposing sweeping taxes as the economic engine of his administration’s second-term agenda.

Now, in the heat of an election year, the court’s decision confuses that message.

The decision by the nation’s highest court was a rude awakening for Trump at a time when his trade policies were already causing rifts among some Republicans. public voting demonstrations The majority of Americans are increasingly concerned about the state of the economy.

Ahead of the November elections, Republicans have urged Trump to focus on the economic message that will help them keep control of Congress. The president tried to do just that Thursday, telling a crowd in northwestern Georgia that “if it weren’t for the tariffs, this country would be in big trouble.”

While Trump attacked the court, Democrats across the country celebrated the decision; Some have argued that there should be a mechanism to allow Americans to recoup money lost due to the president’s trade policy.

“No Supreme Court decision can undo the massive damage caused by Trump’s chaotic tariffs,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a post on X. “The American people paid for these tariffs, and the American people should get their money back.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Trump’s tariffs “an illegal cash grab that raises prices, hurts working families and ruins long-standing global alliances.”

“Every dollar your administration unlawfully took must be returned immediately, with interest,” Newsom, who is aiming for a 2028 presidential candidacy, wrote in a post addressed to Trump on X.

The president’s signature economic policy has long languished in the polls and by a wide margin. Six in 10 Americans surveyed Pew Research survey This month they said they do not support tariff increases. About 40% of this group strongly disapproved. Only 37 percent of respondents said they supported the measures; of these, 13 percent expressed strong approval.

A majority of voters have opposed the policy since April, when Trump announced his sweeping trade agenda, according to Pew.

The court decision is seen as more than a policy obstacle to Trump’s economic agenda.

It is also a rebuke of the style of governance the president has adopted, which often treats Congress less as a partner and more as a body that can be bypassed by executive authority.

Trump has long tested the limits of his executive authority, especially on foreign policies; relied heavily on emergency and national security powers to impose tariffs and acts of war without congressional approval. Even some of his allies in the court decision drew a bright line on this approach.

Gorsuch sided with the court’s liberals in striking down the tariff policy. He wrote that while “it may be tempting to bypass Congress when some pressing issues arise,” the legislature must be considered, especially on key policies involving taxes and tariffs.

“Overall, the legislative process helps ensure that each of us has a stake in the laws that govern us and in the future of the Nation,” Gorsuch wrote. “For some today the weight of these virtues is obvious, for others it may not seem so obvious.”

He added: “But if history is any guide, the tide will turn and the day will come when those disappointed with today’s outcome will appreciate the legislative process as the bastion of freedom.”

Trump said the court decision prompted him to use his trade powers in different ways.

In December, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the administration could replicate the tariff structure or a similar structure through alternative legislative methods in the Trade Act of 1974 and the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

While Trump complained about the court restricting his authority to “demand fees”, he said, “The court has now given me the right to ban anything from entering our country, without question, and to destroy foreign countries.”

“How crazy is this?” Trump said.