In a highly unusual and sharply personal reaction, former US President Donald Trump vehemently criticized six Supreme Court justices following their decision to strike down his administration’s global tariff policies. The ruling, handed down on a Friday, marked one of the most significant legal setbacks of Trump’s second term, curtailing the president’s authority to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on foreign countries. Trump’s response went beyond typical political disagreement, morphing into a broad and scathing attack on the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government.
At a White House press conference held just hours after the decision was announced, Trump expressed his profound disappointment with the court’s ruling. He condemned the six justices who joined the majority opinion, saying they should be “absolutely ashamed” for lacking the courage to “do the right thing” for the country. Such direct personal rebuke of Supreme Court justices is rare, even coming from a president known for his unconventional and combative style. Trump opened the event by stating, “I’m ashamed of certain members of the court. Absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” setting a confrontational tone for the remainder of the press conference.
During the next 45 minutes, Trump strongly criticized the ruling, emphasizing that it curtailed the president’s inherent authority to impose tariffs at will. He vowed to explore other avenues to continue his administration’s trade policies despite the court’s constraints. Throughout his remarks, Trump repeatedly returned to attacking the justices personally, revealing a sense of personal grievance with the decision. What stood out was that his criticism did not spare justices based on their political appointments; both Republican and Democratic appointees who voted against him were targets of his ire.
The six justices who formed the majority against Trump’s tariffs were evenly split between the court’s liberal and conservative wings. On the liberal side were Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, all appointed by Democratic presidents. On the conservative side were Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee who wrote the majority opinion, and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both appointed by Trump himself during his first term. Trump’s denunciations were sweeping and indiscriminate, attacking all six justices without exception.
In particularly harsh language, Trump dismissed the justices as “fools and lapdogs for the Rhinos and the radical left Democrats.” The term “Rhino,” short for “Republicans in Name Only,” is often used by right-wing critics to accuse members of the Republican Party of insufficient loyalty or conservative principles. Trump’s use of this term highlighted his belief that these justices were betraying conservative values and siding with political opponents. Additionally, Trump made a startling claim that the court’s decision was influenced by “foreign interests,” though he offered no evidence or further explanation to support this serious allegation. When pressed by reporters to clarify what he meant by foreign influence, Trump declined to elaborate.
When asked whether he regretted nominating Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both of whom voted against his tariffs authority, Trump stopped short of admitting any mistake but described their votes as an “embarrassment.” He even brought up their families in his criticism, a highly unusual and personal angle rarely seen in presidential commentary about Supreme Court justices. He said their decisions were “an embarrassment to their families, to one another,” underscoring the depth of his frustration with these appointees.
In contrast, Trump praised the three justices who dissented from the majority opinion, voting to uphold his tariffs. These were Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh. Trump reserved particular praise for Kavanaugh, his other first-term appointee. Kavanaugh had authored a lengthy dissent warning that the ruling could force the government to refund billions of dollars in tariff revenue and cause a “mess” in the process. Trump publicly thanked Kavanaugh, Thomas, and Alito for their “strength and wisdom and love of our country,” highlighting their loyalty and support in what he viewed as a critical moment.
Observers and experts in law and international trade noted that Trump’s fiery reaction was not unexpected, given how much the outcome of the case mattered to him personally and politically. Alan Wm Wolff, a former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, commented that the court was well aware of the stakes for the