President Donald Trump took to the podium following the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday blocking his use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs and delivered what amounted to a grievance-laden rebuke of the judiciary. Rather than confine his remarks to the legal reasoning of the ruling, Trump lashed out at members of the Court, accusing some justices of lacking courage and hinting at political bias. He praised dissenting justices while portraying the majority as disloyal to the country.
Yet even as he criticized the Court for limiting his authority under IEEPA, Trump pivoted almost seamlessly to announce a new 10 percent global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Existing Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs, he said, would remain fully in force. In effect, after being told “no” under one statute, he immediately reached for another.
As the press conference dragged on with more of his diatribes and touting of baseless accomplishments, a reporter affiliated with CNN dared to ask him a question.
When asked whether he regretted appointing Justice Amy Coney Barrett in light of the ruling, Trump cut the reporter off mid-question. “I don’t talk to CNN. It’s fake news,” he snapped, waving her aside. The dismissal was abrupt, personal, and telling. Rather than defend his judicial appointments or address the substance of the question, he defaulted to a years-long feud with a network he reflexively brands as “fake news.”
This was hardly an isolated episode. In a recent Oval Office exchange with Kaitlan Collins, Trump angrily lashed out at the journalist for asking him about Epstein survivors. He resorted to personal attacks, accusing Collins of never smiling, a remark widely criticized as dismissive and sexist. The pattern is consistent: when confronted with uncomfortable questions, especially by reporters affiliated with “fake news,” Trump pettily resorts to personal attacks or outright dismissal.
A president facing constitutional limits responded not with composure, but with diatribes aimed at both the Court and the press. The tariffs may dominate the headlines, but the conduct—petulant, combative, and increasingly personal—continues to define the tone.
