Trump 'dares the justices to defy him' as he makes latest case all 'about himself': WaPo

The Washington Post's editorial board says that President Donald Trump's Supreme Court strategy when it comes to defending his tariffs is to dare the justices to defy him and make the case "about himself as much as possible."

The president, reports the Post, announced Wednesday that he intends to attend the November 5 hearing to observe oral arguments before the Court on the legality of the worldwide tariffs he imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

“I think I’m gonna go to the Supreme Court to watch it,” Trump said at the White House. “I’ve not done that, and ... I had some pretty big cases. I think it’s one of the most important cases ever brought."

His attendance, the Post says, would not only "create a spectacle," especially considering the fact that "no president has ever claimed unlimited power to raise revenue by taxing imports."

Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled against Trump in August, its order is on hold until the justices decide.

"Trump has already signaled to the justices that the case is of huge importance to him," the Post says.

In the brief submitted to the court, the government wrote, "With tariffs, we are a rich nation; without tariffs, we are a poor nation,” the Post reports.

"You can almost hear the president dictating that to his lawyers,' they write.

"The brief even quotes Trump, who said in August, 'One year ago, the United States was a dead country, and now, because of the trillions of dollars being paid by countries that have so badly abused us, America is a strong, financially viable, and respected country again.' It warns of a '1929-style result'— that is, a Great Depression — if Trump loses the case."

Trump could have "acted in a measured way," the Post says, letting the legal arguments speak for themselves," but that's not the case.

"Instead, Trump is emphasizing just how extraordinary the case is and how angry he would be if it doesn’t go his way. He is also leaning into the argument that invalidating the levies would cause so much chaos that the court should accept the status quo."

The Post sarcastically offers a suggestion for how Trump should play this out.

"That might work with justices who are too timid to rock the boat," they write. "Perhaps the president should not only attend the oral arguments at the Supreme Court in a few weeks, but deliver them on behalf of the U.S. government. That would really get his point across."