Trump’s signature tariff plan draws divided reaction at State of the Union
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Republicans were pleased when President Donald Trump spoke during the State of the Union on Tuesday about his plan to continue imposing global tariffs after the Supreme Court dealt him a setback, according to live reactions from a panel of voters.
The panel of 29 Democrats, 30 independents and 41 Republicans, assembled by the polling group Maslansky & Partners, reacted in real time as Trump spoke. Responses were displayed on a line graph; higher values indicated positive responses and lower values indicated negative responses.
Trump called the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the tariffs “unfortunate” as the four justices sat expressionless in the front row of the House of Representatives.
A panel reacts to President Donald Trump speaking about tariffs during the State of the Union on February 24, 2026.
It is customary for judges to be invited to the address, although generally not all attend. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh attended Tuesday’s meeting.
Trump cited the tariffs he unilaterally imposed under the emergency law last year as an important negotiating tool, saying they helped make peace agreements between other countries and generated billions of dollars in revenue. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump illegally bypassed Congress by enforcing a law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts, from left, Supreme Court associate justice Elena Kagan, Supreme Court associate justice Brett Kavanaugh and Supreme Court associate justice Amy Coney Barrett during the State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
However, while the quadrants on the line chart show that Republicans reacted positively and Democrats and independents reacted negatively, Trump said, “Just four days ago, an unfortunate decision came from the United States Supreme Court, a very unfortunate decision.”
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President Donald Trump speaks at the “Make America Prosperous Again” trade announcement event held in the White House Rose Garden on April 2, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“The good news is that almost all countries and companies want to keep the deal they already have, knowing that the legal power I have as president to make a new deal could be much worse for them, and so they will continue to work on the same successful path we negotiated before the unfortunate intervention of the Supreme Court,” Trump said.
Trump said he had “time-tested” alternatives to IEEPA to once again circumvent Congress’ role in authorizing tariffs, which the Supreme Court has said function as taxes and therefore require congressional approval under the Constitution.
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