Pressuring the U.S. Supreme Court via Social Media
President Donald Trump of the United States strongly advocated for the benefits of country-specific "reciprocal tariffs" (differentiated tariffs by country) and subtly pressured the U.S. Supreme Court, which is currently reviewing the legality of such tariffs.
On December 7 (local time), President Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that imposing reciprocal tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA, enacted in 1977) is "much more direct, less cumbersome, and much faster." He further emphasized, "All of these elements are necessary for strong and decisive national security outcomes."
President Trump also stressed that the "speed, power, and certainty" that can be achieved by utilizing the IEEPA are always crucial factors in completing tasks in a consistent and victorious manner. He added, "Thanks to the authority explicitly granted to the President of the United States, I resolved eight wars in ten months," and stated, "If these countries thought that this authority did not exist, they would have clearly and loudly said so, but they did not."
The IEEPA, which took effect in 1977, grants the President broad authority to control economic transactions by declaring a national emergency if situations abroad are determined to pose an unusual or extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, or the U.S. economy.
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing whether the use of IEEPA authority to impose tariffs is illegal. Both the first and second instance courts previously ruled that such actions were unlawful. Foreign media outlets expect a ruling to be issued soon.
Since the Supreme Court began reviewing the legality of using the IEEPA, President Trump has frequently pressured the Court for a favorable decision. On this day, during his visit to the Kennedy Center to personally attend the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, he told reporters, "We are collecting enormous amounts of money from countries from which we used to suffer huge losses," adding, "But they have no complaints. They do not complain about the tariffs."
He went on to say that imposing tariffs using the IEEPA is "unbelievably good from a national security perspective," stressing, "There are other routes to impose tariffs, but nothing is as purely beneficial to national security as this (IEEPA)."
President Trump also addressed concerns within the Republican Party about distributing the revenue generated by tariffs as dividends to the public, saying, "We are making tremendous amounts of money, so we can provide good dividends to the middle class," and clarified, "I am talking about dividends for the middle and lower classes, not for the wealthy."
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