The Wall Street Journal's editorial board delivered a blistering rebuke to President Donald Trump following his fiery outburst earlier in the day to the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision striking down his signature emergency tariff policy.
In a stinging opinion piece, the conservative publication argued that Trump owes an apology to both the individual justices he attacked and the institution itself. The editors admitted that's unlikely to happen.
After the high court voted to overturn his tariff executive order, Trump unleashed a tirade against the justices who ruled against him, accusing them of disloyalty and betrayal.
"The Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I'm ashamed of certain members of the Court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what's right for our country," he said, specifically targeting Chief Justice John Roberts and conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump escalated his rhetoric further, calling the three conservatives "fools and lapdogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats," and describing Gorsuch and Barrett — both his own appointees — as "an embarrassment to their families." He also claimed without evidence that "the Court has been swayed by foreign interests."
The editorial board hammered Trump's tantrum.
"This is ugly even by Mr. Trump’s standards," the editors wrote.
And it could incite violence.
"This is rhetoric that could cause some deranged Trump acolyte to turn to violence against a Justice," the board warned
The board noted that Trump had no legitimate grounds for surprise, having been warned from the outset that his tariff action would likely fail legal scrutiny under the IEEPA statute.
