President Donald Trump said on Sunday that if the Supreme Court were to rule against his ambitious tariff agenda, America’s national security would be greatly harmed.
When asked by Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures whether the president has a backup plan in case the Supreme Court strikes down his use of tariffs, Trump responded, “Well, I’ll have to figure something out. I don’t want to even think about it. We’re doing so well to think about it.”
“If that happened, we’d have to pay back money. So if anything would happen with that, that would mean they’re allowed to use tariffs, and we’re not,” he said, referring to foreign countries that use tariffs as countermeasures to his administration’s trade levies.
Since April, Trump has used tariffs as a means to pressure other nations to drop their tariffs or unfair trade practices against the United States. The White House states its goals in rolling out tariffs are to promote domestic manufacturing, reduce the U.S. trade deficit, and protect national security.
“This is national security,” Trump told Bartiromo. “If they took away tariffs, then they’ve taken away our national security.”
The president said something similar when he announced last week that a personal visit to the Supreme Court for oral arguments in the highly anticipated tariff case may be in order.
“If we don’t have the use of tariffs, we have no national security. This country will have no financial security,” Trump said on Wednesday. “That’s why I think I’m gonna go to the Supreme Court to watch it. I’ve not done that, and I had some pretty big cases.”
“I think it’s one of the most important cases ever brought because we will be defenseless against the world,” he added.
The Supreme Court’s intervention in the case stems from lower court rulings that determined Trump is not allowed to impose a wide range of tariffs against individual countries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump argues otherwise. Oral arguments will be held on Nov. 5.
If he goes, Trump would become the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court hearing for oral arguments.
TRUMP PLANS VISIT TO SUPREME COURT TO WATCH ARGUMENTS IN TARIFFS CASE
While many key trading partners with the U.S. have agreed to trade deals that lead to reduced tariffs, China has not done so yet. In fact, the U.S.-China trade negotiations suffered a significant setback earlier this month after Trump vowed to impose an additional 100% tariff next month in response to China’s export controls on rare earth minerals.
Tensions have since de-escalated, as the U.S. and China prepare to hold a fresh round of trade talks in the coming week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the meeting will be held in Malaysia ahead of Trump’s expected bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea by the end of the month. Trump previously threatened to pull out of the South Korea meeting, but Bessent has said it remains on the president’s agenda.