President Donald Trump reacted angrily Friday after the Supreme Court struck down his signature global tariffs, a move that included dissent from two of the three justices he appointed.
Trump, who has long expected personal loyalty from his appointees, criticized the court sharply, saying he was “ashamed” of the justices who opposed him and questioning their courage. Speaking in the White House briefing room, he singled out Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, calling their votes “an embarrassment to their families.”
Vice President JD Vance also condemned the ruling on X, describing it as “lawlessness from the Court,” though he avoided personal attacks. Legal challenges to the tariffs had come from groups across the political spectrum, including the libertarian Liberty Justice Center and business-friendly organizations like the Chamber of Commerce.
The decision highlights the ongoing tension between Trump’s aggressive use of presidential powers—covering trade, immigration, and other policy areas—and the Supreme Court’s role as a check on executive authority.
Trump’s fraught relationship with the court is not new. During his first term, he won a major ruling protecting him from prosecution over efforts to overturn the 2020 election and secured repeated emergency appeals to enforce parts of his immigration agenda. But the court has also rebuked him publicly, particularly Chief Justice John Roberts, though Trump did not name him in Friday’s remarks.
Presidential criticism of Supreme Court decisions has historical precedent. Thomas Jefferson opposed the landmark Marbury v. Madison ruling, Franklin Roosevelt tried and failed to expand the court over New Deal frustrations, and Barack Obama openly criticized the Citizens United decision in 2010.
Experts note, however, that Trump’s personal attacks on justices—especially those he appointed—cross a line. “It’s fine to criticize a ruling, but demagogic to claim justices lack courage,” said Ed Whelan, former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia.
Past presidents have privately regretted appointing certain justices, including Dwight D. Eisenhower after Brown v. Board of Education, but none aired such criticisms publicly during live broadcasts.
Trump and members of the court are expected to be in the same room Tuesday for his State of the Union address, a setting likely to be tense given the recent clash.