Washington: “What the hell is going on,” is how US president Donald Trump chose to respond to his country’s Supreme Court’s skepticism on his authority to impose tariffs on other countries.
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday raised questions about whether an emergency law gives Trump near-limitless power to set and change duties on imports.
On Sunday, the US president called the whole thing “ridiculous”, in his own characteristic manner.
“So, let’s get this straight??? The President of the United States is allowed (and fully approved by Congress!) to stop ALL TRADE with a Foreign Country (Which is far more onerous than a Tariff!), and LICENSE a Foreign Country, but is not allowed to put a simple Tariff on a Foreign Country, even for purposes of NATIONAL SECURITY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“That is NOT what our great Founders had in mind! The whole thing is ridiculous,” he added.
Why can other countries impose tariffs but the US cannot, the president questioned.
“Other Countries can Tariff us, but we can’t Tariff them??? It is their DREAM!!! Businesses are pouring into the USA ONLY BECAUSE OF TARIFFS. HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS??? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???” Trump said in his signature style.
Trump, in another post, called people who speak out against tariffs “FOOLS”, claiming that the US is now the most respected country in the world with no inflation.
“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER,” he said.
Three conservative judges called out the Trump administration over the tariffs and their potentially trillion-dollar implications for the global economy.
“And so is it your contention that every country needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base? I mean, Spain? France,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by Trump himself, asked.
Chief Justice John Roberts raised questions about whether the emergency-power law allowed for tariffs on “any product, from any country, in any amount, for any length of time.”
Trump has maintained that any ruling against him would be catastrophic for the economy.