Donald Trumplaunched a furious 545‑word tirade on Sunday on his Truth Social platform, attacking two conservative Supreme Court justices he appointed and warning that the United States faces an 'economically unsustainable' future if the court rules against him onbirthright citizenship. Writing from Florida, the 79‑year‑old president singled out Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett by name and claimed the Supreme Court was on course to damage the US economy with what he called a looming 'negative ruling.'

Trump has been simmering for months over a February decision in which the Supreme Court's liberal justices, joined by conservatives including Gorsuch and Barrett, curtailed his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The ruling held that the law does not allow a president to unilaterally impose tariffs in the sweeping way Trump had sought. The defeat undercut one of his favoured tools on trade and national security and appears to have lodged deep in his mind as he battles a fresh case over his attempt to end birthright citizenship.

In Sunday's post, Trump managed the rare feat of praising and denouncing his own nominees in the space of a few sentences. He opened with an almost affectionate nod to Gorsuch, 58, insisting he 'Love[s] Justice Neil Gorsuch' and describing him as 'a really smart and good man.' He added that he had 'always liked and respected' Barrett, 54, who joined the court in 2020.

The tone did not last. Within lines, Trump accused the pair of having 'hurt our Country so badly,' branding them 'a disgrace to our nation,' fools and lapdogs and 'an embarrassment to their families' over the tariff ruling. The insults, relayed in full on Truth Social, made clear that for Trump, judicial independence sits uncomfortably alongside personal loyalty.

He tried, somewhat oddly, to soften the blow, adding that he did 'not believe they mean to do so,' and speculated that 'maybe Neil, and Amy, just had a really bad day.' Still, the broader message was unmistakable. Trump argued that it was 'really OK' for justices to show a degree of allegiance to the president who elevated them 'to 'almost' the highest position in the land.' Coming from a man who once campaigned on reshaping the Supreme Court, it read less like legal analysis and more like a warning shot.

Gorsuch and Barrett did not respond publicly to the attack. The White House, contacted by The Daily Beast, also did not comment, leaving Trump's broadside hanging without official rebuttal. That silence, deliberate or otherwise, has become familiar as he tests the boundaries of what a president can say about sitting judges.

The latest eruption from Trump was triggered not only by the tariff defeat but by a separate case now before the court. On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order seeking to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas. Lower courts blocked the move, pointing to the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, which has long been interpreted to guarantee birthright citizenship.

Civil liberties groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, argue the order is plainly unlawful. The ACLU has said Trump's directive 'flouts the Constitution's dictates, longstanding Supreme Court precedent, a statute passed by Congress, and fundamental American values.' Nothing has been finally decided yet, and a ruling is not expected until late June or early July, so all predictions should be treated with caution.

Trump, however, appears convinced the court is leaning against him. He attended oral arguments in person at the Supreme Court last month, the first sitting president, by his own account, to do so. He left the chamber abruptly when some of the conservative justices, including his own appointees, expressed doubts about his effort to dismantle birthright citizenship.

In his Truth Social post, he claimed that what he 'witnessed recently' led him to believe the court 'will be ruling against us on Birthright Citizenship.' If that happens, he wrote, the United States would remain 'the only Country in the World that practices this unsustainable, unsafe, and incredibly costly DISASTER.' He insisted, 'I don't want loyalty, but I do want and expect it for our Country.'

Source: International Business Times UK