As the U.S. Supreme Court began proceedings to judge the legality of imposing tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump again asserted the legitimacy of his policies.
Trump said on the 9th (local time) on the social media (SNS) platform Truth Social, "The only reason corporations are flocking to the United States is tariffs." He then said, "Hasn't the Supreme Court heard this?" and "What on earth is going on?" As the U.S. Supreme Court moved last week to rule on the legality of imposing tariffs, he has continued remarks in response.
Trump has consistently emphasized that the authority to impose tariffs lies with the U.S. president. He said, "The U.S. president can shut down all trade with foreign countries, and Congress has fully approved it, and that is much harder than imposing tariffs," adding, "The U.S. president can grant permits to foreign countries."
Regarding the Supreme Court taking up the legality of tariffs, he said, "Is it not permissible for the U.S. president to simply impose tariffs on foreign countries for the purpose of national security?" He added, "That is not what our great Founding Fathers had in mind. It is all completely ridiculous." He went on, "Other countries can impose tariffs on us, and we can't on them? That is their dream."
In another post he put up earlier, Trump said, "People who are against tariffs are fools," adding, "We are now the richest and most respected country in the world, inflation is almost nonexistent, and stock market prices are at record highs." He continued, "American retirement accounts (401k) are at all-time highs," and "We are making trillions of dollars, and we will soon start paying off the tremendous liability of $37 trillion."
Trump also said, "With record investment being made in the United States, factories are springing up everywhere," adding, "At least $2,000 (about 2.86 million won) in dividends will be paid to everyone except the high-income bracket." He added, "Without tariffs, we could not have any of these benefits."
With the shutdown (temporary suspension of federal government operations) entering its 40th day, Trump called on the ruling Republican Party to "abolish the filibuster," saying, "End the shutdown and pass great policies. And win the midterm elections. It's really easy." He added, "Be a smart party, not a stupid one."
The point is to push through a change to the rules to abolish the filibuster—set in the Senate as a "minimum 60 votes in favor" requirement and blocking the Republican stopgap spending bill—so that the Republican Party, with 53 seats as the majority, can freely pass bills.