President Trump went scorched earth on two of his own Supreme Court picks at an NRCC dinner this week — and the clip is spreading fast.
The target of his fury: Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Neil Gorsuch — both Trump appointees — who joined the court’s three liberal justices and Chief Justice Roberts in a 6-3 ruling that blocked Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs.
Trump didn’t mince words.
“Two of the people that voted for that — I appointed — voted for that, and they sicken me!” he told the crowd. “They sicken me because they’re bad for our country.”
He didn’t stop there. Trump also called them “lap dogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats,” labeled them “fools,” and said the ruling was “an embarrassment to their families.”
The dissent came from Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh — the three who sided with Trump.
Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the majority, argued that “IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties” — a narrow statutory reading that blocked the administration’s trade enforcement authority.
Trump is appealing the ruling, but the political fallout is already here: the president publicly torching two of his own lifetime appointments is not something that happens in quiet Washington backrooms.
For conservatives watching this, the message is clear — loyalty is a two-way street, and Trump is done pretending otherwise.