Trump lashes out at Supreme Court justices over tariffs ruling

February 21, 2026

President Donald Trump launched an aggressive verbal attack on the six Supreme Court justices who voted to strike down his administration's global tariff policies, calling them "fools" and "lapdogs" who lacked courage to support the country. The bipartisan 6-3 majority decision included three justices Trump himself appointed during his first term, which he described as an "embarrassment to their families. " Trump claimed without evidence that foreign interests influenced the court's ruling and suggested he would seek alternative methods to impose tariffs on other countries.

Who is affected

President Donald Trump (suffered a major political and legal setback)
Six Supreme Court justices in the majority: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett (targets of Trump's personal attacks)
Three dissenting justices: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh (praised by Trump)
The Supreme Court as an institution (attacked by the executive branch)
Countries subject to Trump's tariff policies (beneficiaries of the ruling)
The U.S. government (required to refund billions in tariff revenue)

What action is being taken

Trump is criticizing the Supreme Court ruling and the justices who voted in the majority
The president is making the case that he will find other methods to continue imposing tariffs on other countries

Why it matters

This represents one of the biggest setbacks of Trump's second term and demonstrates the judiciary's willingness to check executive power even when it includes justices appointed by the president himself. The decision reinforces that presidents do not have inherent authority to impose sweeping tariffs unilaterally, representing what experts describe as "a victory for the rule of law." Trump's unprecedented personal attacks on Supreme Court justices, including bringing up their families and making unsubstantiated claims about foreign influence, further erodes traditional norms of separation of powers and respect between co-equal branches of government.

What's next

Trump indicated he would seek alternative methods to continue imposing tariffs on other countries
The government will be forced to refund billions in tariff revenue (as mentioned in Justice Kavanaugh's dissent)

Read full article from source: BBC