Trump, JD Vance vilify ‘lawless’ Supreme Court justices over tariff ruling

Al Jazeera · Feb 21, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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President Trump calls Supreme Court justices an ’embarrassment to their families’ in 45-minute address to the media.Published On 21 Feb 2026United States President Donald Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, have launched personal attacks on the justices of the US Supreme Court and their families, after the country’s top court struck down trade tariffs imposed by the White House.In a 45-minute address to reporters at the White House, the US president heaped criticism on the six justices who ruled against his signature tariff policy in the 6-3 decision by the court on Friday, including Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump appointed to the court during his first term.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US President Trump promises new tariffs, slams Supreme Court decisionlist 2 of 4US Supreme Court clears way to end TPS for Venezuelans: What it meanslist 3 of 4What is Insurrection Act, could it help Trump deploy troops to US cities?list 4 of 4Why the Supreme Court ruled Trump’s global tariffs illegalend of list“I think it’s an embarrassment to their families, you wanna know the truth, the two of them,” Trump said, referring to Justices Gorsuch and Barrett.“I’m ashamed of certain members of the court – absolutely ashamed – for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump added.Shockingly, Trump also claimed that the Supreme Court “has been swayed by foreign interests”, without providing any evidence.US President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a news conference at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 20, 2026 [Mandel Ngan/AFP]Trump then warmly praised the three members of the court who dissented in the ruling.“I’d like to thank and congratulate Justices [Clarence] Thomas, [Samuel] Alito, and [Brett] Kavanaugh for their strength and wisdom and love of our country, which is, right now, very proud of those justices,” Trump said.“When you read the dissenting opinions, there’s no way that anyone can argue against them,” he said.Vice President Vance also sharply criticised the justices for their ruling, accusing them of “lawlessness” in a post on X.“Today, the Supreme Court decided that Congress, despite giving the president the ability to ‘regulate imports’, didn’t actually mean it,” Vance wrote in a post on X.“This is lawlessness from the Court, plain and simple,” said Vance, whose political profile rose to prominence after writing a memoir about his time at Yale Law School.Trump and Vance’s comments mark a rare rebuke of the nine-member Supreme Court, which currently has six members appointed by Trump’s Republican Party and has often ruled in favour of his administration’s policies.