Donald Trump went on a rant against the Supreme Court over last week’s ruling on his administration’s tariffs. He called the majority verdict, which said the President of the United States exceeded his authority, “ridiculous and dumb.” He claimed it had actually increased his powers.
Trump Erupts in ‘Dumb’ Rant
On Truth Social, Trump said he “use Licenses to do absolutely terrible things to foreign countries, especially those countries that RIPPING US OFF for decades.” However, he did not explain how the ruling could be seen as granting him “extraordinary powers.” In an immature reaction, he declared he would ” using lower case letters to refer to the Supreme Court based on a complete lack of respect.”
“The supreme court using lower case letters for a while based on a complete lack of respect!” he said. He also said that the Court unknowingly gave him, “far more powers and strength than I prior to their ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive ruling.”
Did he say ‘yes’ to licenses and ‘no’ to fees?
The post quickly turned into a confusing mix about presidential trade licenses. These are licenses a US President can issue in an economic emergency. They serve as a way to impose penalties on foreign trade instead of directly applying tariffs on goods and services.
Laws like the IEEPA, the 1971 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, can require foreign countries to get special permission, or licenses, to trade with the US. Trump seemed to upset about the Supreme Court ruling, which stated that while he still require countries exporting to the US to apply for such licenses, he could not charge a “fee.”
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