Trump Attacks Supreme Court After Losing on Tariffs, Facing Birthright Citizenship Defeat

President Donald Trump went after the Supreme Court on Monday, accusing the justices of failing the country after they rejected his attempt to impose tariffs without congressional approval -- and signaled they may do the same to his executive order targeting birthright citizenship.

"They failed miserably on Tariffs, needlessly costing the USA Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in potential rebates for the benefit haters and scammers. Why??? Don't do it again!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The Country can only withstand so many bad decisions from a Court that just doesn't seem to care."

The tantrum came months after the Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump exceeded his authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to set tariffs. That 1977 law gives presidents limited power to regulate the economy during genuine crises -- not to impose import taxes because they feel like it.

Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the majority opinion that the Constitution gives Congress alone the power to tax. "Recognizing the taxing power's unique importance, and having just fought a revolution motivated in large part by 'taxation without representation,' the Framers gave Congress 'alone . . . access to the pockets of the people,'" Roberts explained.

In other words, the Supreme Court told Trump he can't unilaterally levy taxes on American consumers and businesses without going through the legislative branch. That's not judicial activism -- that's basic constitutional law.

Now Trump appears worried the Court will hand him another loss on birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed to most people born in the United States for more than 150 years. During oral arguments last Wednesday, key justices expressed skepticism that Trump's executive order reinterpreting the 14th Amendment passes constitutional muster.

The administration is trying to argue that children born to undocumented immigrants or temporary visa holders aren't entitled to citizenship, despite clear constitutional text stating that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

Trump's public pressure campaign against the Supreme Court is notable for several reasons. Three of the nine justices -- Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett -- are Trump appointees. His frustration suggests even judges he selected won't ignore the Constitution to advance his agenda.

The attack also reveals Trump's authoritarian instincts. He's not arguing the Court got the law wrong on the merits -- he's claiming they "just don't seem to care" about the country because they won't let him do whatever he wants. That's the logic of someone who views judicial independence as an obstacle rather than a feature of democratic governance.

Trump's claim that the tariff ruling cost the U.S. "Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in potential rebates" is economic gibberish. Tariffs are taxes paid by American importers and passed on to consumers through higher prices. They don't generate "rebates" -- they generate inflation and retaliatory trade wars that harm American workers and businesses.

The Supreme Court's February decision likely saved Americans from even steeper price increases on imported goods, from electronics to clothing to auto parts. Trump's tariff obsession has already triggered retaliation from trading partners and disrupted supply chains. The Court stopping him from going further was a win for consumers, not a loss.

As the birthright citizenship case moves forward, Trump's public attacks on the Court may backfire. Justices don't appreciate being bullied, and several have shown they take their constitutional obligations seriously regardless of which president appointed them.

Trump can rage-post all he wants. The Supreme Court isn't required to care about his feelings -- just the Constitution.