'Better be a joke': MAGA melts down over 'ridiculous' court decision halting Trump tariffs
Some of President Donald Trump's biggest supporters are outraged after a three-judge panel struck down the vast bulk of his "Liberation Day" tariffs.
On Wednesday, a panel from the Court of International Trade consisting of judges appointed by Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Donald Trump ruled that the tariffs Trump imposed under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) were "unlawful." The three-judge panel asserted that the power to impose tariffs lies with Congress, and that the president can't do an end-run around the legislative branch by invoking an emergency.
The ruling angered MAGA commentators, organizers and activists alike, with pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer decrying the decision as a "JUDICIAL COUP" in a tweet.
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"A ridiculous & dangerous trade court ruling by judges, sadly, among the many elites brainwashed into believing international trade should take precedence over our national workforce & security," conservative media consultant Lee Spieckerman tweeted. "SCOTUS must vitiate this destructive diminution of presidential authority."
"Presidents ALWAYS had the authority to set tariffs," tweeted Newsmax columnist Gregory Lyakhov in response to the CIT's ruling. "This decision better be a joke."
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also condemned the decision, arguing that courts have typically "given the executive branch broad authority to negotiate trade" following the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. However, the Congressional Research Service reported in April that while Congress has the "ability to delegate" some of its tariff powers to the executive, the Constitution still stipulates that Congress, not the president, has the power to "regulate foreign commerce, impose tariffs and collect revenue."
"With activist judges, what is even the point of having a president?!" Kirk tweeted.
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