Trump Defends Tariff Plan, Promises $2,000 'Dividends' for Americans Amid Supreme Court Battle

President Donald Trump unleashed a fiery, all-caps defense of his aggressive tariff strategy on Truth Social, branding opponents "People Against Tariff Fools" while promising at least $2,000 in direct "dividends" to every American except the wealthy. The payouts, he claimed, would be funded from the trillions in tariff revenues pouring into federal coffers, framing the policy as a patriotic redistribution of wealth taken from foreign competitors. Trump painted a picture of economic triumph, insisting the levies had transformed the U.S. into a global powerhouse with unmatched prosperity flowing directly to working families.

He boasted that tariffs have made the US the "richest" and "most respected" nation on earth, citing record stock market highs, soaring 401k values, near-zero inflation, and a manufacturing renaissance with "plants and factories going up all over the place." Trump argued that businesses are "pouring into the USA ONLY BECAIS OF TARIFFS," crediting the trade barriers for triggering a wave of domestic investment and job creation. He claimed the policy was already generating trillions to begin paying down the $37 trillion national debt, positioning tariffs as the ultimate economic weapon.

In a direct challenge to critics and the judiciary, Trump raged against the Supreme Court's scrutiny of his tariff authority, questioning why a president can legally "stop ALL TRADE with a Foreign Country" — a far harsher measure — but cannot impose tariffs for national security. Calling the legal distinction "ridiculous," he accused foreign nations of exploiting U.S. openness while protecting their own markets, declaring: "Other Countries can Tariff us, but we can't Tariff them??? It is their DREAM!!!" He demanded the court recognize the real-world impact of his policies, asking, "HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS???"

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The presidential outburst came days after oral arguments in a landmark case testing the limits of executive power under a 1977 emergency law. Both conservative and liberal justices grilled U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer on whether Trump's indefinite, broad-scale tariffs constituted a "major action" requiring explicit congressional approval. Lower courts had already struck down the tariffs as overreach, with challenges brought by affected businesses and 12 mostly Democratic-led states. The case now hangs in the balance before a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court.

With tariffs projected to generate trillions in revenue over the next decade, Trump is waging an all-out campaign to preserve what he sees as a cornerstone of his economic and foreign policy legacy. Some conservative justices appeared sympathetic to broad presidential authority in international affairs, while others warned of unchecked executive expansion. As the court deliberates, Trump's promise of $2,000 checks hangs in the balance — a bold political gambit tied to a legal battle that could reshape global trade and the balance of power in Washington.

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