Trump fears he’s ‘screwed’ as Supreme Court considers tariffs

The tariffs that Donald Trump introduced in 2025 have proven to be unpopular with pretty much everyone. While politicians usually get away with unpopular policies, it’s harder to do so when they impact businesses. This negative impact on profit is why companies like Costco have launched lawsuits against his administration.

Now, with the US Supreme Court planning to release “its next opinion” on Wednesday 14 January, the president has begun to panic:

NEW

“If Supreme Court rules against… *WE’RE SCREWED!”:

President Trump sends message re eagerly awaited verdict on his signature tariff policy, if confirmed as illegal use of emergency powers in verdict as soon as Wednesday, $10s of billions refunds of the tariffs could come. pic.twitter.com/wOfFc0wO19

— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) January 12, 2026

“SCREWED” indeed.

Trump terrified

Trump ‘tariffs’ could also be described as an ‘import tax’ which impacts American businesses and citizens. As James Wright wrote for the Canary:

Analysts at Rosenblatt Securities said Apple could raise iPhone prices by 43% because of the tariffs. That’s if they pass the costs on to consumers, despite Apple making net profit of £72 billion in 2024.

The tariffs have also impacted retail giants such as Amazon, Walmart and Target. All of these companies saw a share drop of more than 10% in March.

Trump is going further than his trade wars in his last administration. Everyone knows how damaging it is to American companies themselves (and say US farmers who are then hit with retaliatory tariffs). So the policies may not result in good faith favourable trade deals for the US. This is not a surprise from Trump who has bankrupted six of his own businesses.

Reporting on the latest news with the Supreme Court, Yahoo! Finance wrote:

The court heard arguments in early November. Both conservative- and liberal-leaning justices asked skeptical questions of the method by which the president imposed his most sweeping duties. Trump imposed his tariffs by invoking a 1977 law meant for national emergencies.

The Trump administration also made appeals to the court last year, and in recent weeks Trump has frequently expressed concern over the ruling, saying losing the ability to tariff other countries would be a “terrible blow” to the US

People have pointed out that if Trump didn’t want to get embarrassed by the courts then he shouldn’t have (allegedly) broken the law:

🚨 BREAKING: Trump is now openly panicking, claiming the U.S. would owe “trillions of dollars” if the Supreme Court rules against his tariffs.

Translation: maybe don’t illegally impose tariffs you don’t have the authority to implement, then dare the courts to stop you.

— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 12, 2026

People also drew attention to the failure of the tariffs:

BREAKING: Manufacturing jobs have plummeted under Trump's tariffs—this is not putting America first. pic.twitter.com/egG7Y5M68J

— CAP Action (@CAPAction) January 9, 2026

Oh, and reporters asked Trump what’s happening with those tariff cheques he promised:

💥BREAKING:

Reporter: “You promised $2,000 checks to Americans using tariff revenue."

President Trump: “I promised that? When did I do that?”

Looks like no tariffs stimilus is coming soon. pic.twitter.com/NquIYCWxnT

— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) January 13, 2026

To be fair to the guy, he literally might not remember:

BREAKING: In an insane moment, Trump brags AGAIN that he's "the only President who went for cognitive tests." It tests for dementia.

It's not the brag he thinks it is.pic.twitter.com/ztQssB7uuE

— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) January 6, 2026

Winners and losers

As Trump’s trade war wages on, it’s clear there will be no winner in all this. There may be a first-place loser, however, and at this rate, that person will be Donald Trump.

Featured image via Joe Ravi