Trump lashes Supreme Court
- Donald Trump publicly attacked conservative Supreme Court justices after a recent ruling against his tariff policy. (thehill.com) - He called the justices "weak and stupid" and predicted the court would rule against him in an upcoming birthright‑citizenship case. (thecentersquare.com) - The remarks signal escalating executive frustration with judicial checks and are widening the institutional clash around policy limits. (thehill.com)
President Donald Trump publicly turned on parts of the Supreme Court this week, saying some conservative justices had “gone weak, stupid, and bad” after the court ruled against his tariff policy. (thehill.com) Trump wrote the attack on Truth Social on Wednesday, April 22, after the court’s February 20 decision striking down most of his tariffs. He said the “Republican Justices don’t stick together” and predicted the court would also reject his position on birthright citizenship. (thehill.com) (cbsnews.com) The tariff ruling was 6-3. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion, joined by the court’s three liberal justices and two Trump appointees, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, in holding that a 1977 emergency-powers law did not let Trump impose sweeping tariffs on nearly every country. (scotusblog.com) (time.com) Trump’s post also looked ahead to the citizenship fight now back before the justices. He said the court had asked “nasty, one-sided questions” in the case over his order to restrict automatic citizenship for some children born in the United States. (thehill.com) (abcnews.go.com) That order, Executive Order 14160, was signed on January 20, 2025. It sought to deny citizenship to some U.S.-born children if neither parent was a citizen or lawful permanent resident, and federal courts blocked it before it could take effect. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) The Supreme Court already gave Trump one important win in that broader dispute. In Trump v. CASA on June 27, 2025, the justices ruled 6-3 that lower courts generally cannot issue nationwide injunctions, narrowing a tool judges had used to block administration policies across the country. (supremecourt.gov) (scotusblog.com) Even with that ruling, the underlying citizenship challenge kept moving. During arguments on April 1, 2026, several justices appeared skeptical of Trump’s effort to limit birthright citizenship, according to accounts from the courtroom. (scotusblog.com) (usatoday.com) The clash leaves Trump attacking a court he helped shape during his first term, when he appointed Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett. His latest post singled out no conservative justice by name, but it framed the court less as an ally than as another institution limiting his use of executive power. (time.com) (politico.com) The next marker is the court’s birthright-citizenship decision, expected by late June. Trump is already saying he expects another loss. (scotusblog.com) (thehill.com)
