The Most Revealing Part of Trump’s Tariff Meltdown
The Most Revealing Part of Trump’s Tariff Meltdown
The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #787: Friday, February 20th, 2026.
Today, the Supreme Court told Donald Trump something no one in his orbit seems allowed to say out loud:
No.
Not “no” as in “we disagree.”
Not “no” as in “please revise and resubmit.”
No…as in: the Constitution put this power somewhere else.
The Court ruled he didn’t have the authority, under the emergency law he used, to impose sweeping tariffs…because tariffs are taxes…and the power to tax belongs to Congress.
That’s the civics-class version.
What matters just as much is what happened next: Trump stepped in front of cameras and gave one of the most revealing speeches of his presidency…because in a moment that demanded concern for the country…the economy…and institutional stability, he gave us pure Trump.
Not a steward.
Not a guardian.
Not a leader absorbing a hit to protect the system.
A man offended that reality contained him.
Exhibit A: He treated the Supreme Court like disloyal employees
He opened by saying he was “ashamed” of certain justices for not having the “courage” to do what he wanted.
That wording matters.
He didn’t say the Court made a serious mistake he would respect and contest through lawful channels. He didn’t say he’d work with Congress to clarify authority. He didn’t say, “The Court has spoken; here’s how we proceed responsibly.”
He said he was ashamed of them…the way a boss scolds staff for failing to deliver.
That is the worldview in miniature: institutions don’t have independent legitimacy; they have performance expectations…and the metric is whether they serve him.
Exhibit B: He praised the dissenters like a man grading loyalty
Then he pivoted to celebrating the dissenters…especially Justice Kavanaugh…calling his writing “genius,” saying he was “very proud” of him, and even bragging that Kavanaugh’s “stock… has gone so up.”
Read that again. “Stock.”
That isn’t how a president talks if he believes judges are independent. That’s how a man talks when he believes the bench is a portfolio of assets that should appreciate when they deliver the desired outcome.
And it gets worse: he described the liberal justices as an “automatic no,” a “disgrace,” and implied outcomes are predetermined by tribe.
That’s not just a rant. That’s a message: law is politics…politics is loyalty…and loyalty is owed to me.
Exhibit C: He tried to flip the meaning of losing
Here’s the most audacious move in the whole performance: he argued that the Court’s decision actually made presidential power “more powerful” and “more crystal clear,” not less.
That is how you know what he’s doing.
When a normal leader loses a constitutional dispute, the task is to reassure the country: the system works…the markets will stabilize…and we’ll proceed within the law.
Trump’s instinct is the opposite: he can’t be seen as limited. So he narrates the limit as a victory…because his actual job, in his own mind…is not governance.
It’s dominance.
Exhibit D: He smeared the Court with “foreign interests” talk
Then he went for the throat: he claimed the Supreme Court was “swayed by foreign interests,” and when pressed…he talked about “undue influence,” then called people on the other side “slimeballs.”
No evidence. No specifics. Just corrosive accusation.
That’s the authoritarian reflex: if an institution checks you…it must be illegitimate. If it’s illegitimate, it can be ignored. If it can be ignored, then what you want becomes what the country “needs.”
This isn’t a trade dispute anymore. It’s an attempt to dissolve the very idea of an independent referee.
Pause and do this in-app
If you’re reading in the Substack app, hit Comment and answer this in one sentence:
What line from this speech felt like the clearest window into how he sees the presidency?
(If you’re reading in email, tap “View in app” so your comment actually lands where people will see it.)
Exhibit E: “I don’t need Congress”
After the Court ruled his chosen method was unlawful…a reporter asked whether he’d ask Congress to approve what he wants next.
His answer: “I don’t need to.”
That’s the tell. That’s the whole operating system.
The man just lost a separation-of-powers case…and his first instinct is to announce he doesn’t need the other branch of government anyway.
So what was the speech really about?
It wasn’t about tariffs.
It was about the humiliation of being told “no,” and the urgent need to reassert personal primacy. It was about punishing institutions for boundary-setting. It was about converting a civic limit into an ego drama, then making the nation watch.
And here’s the part that should sober everyone up:
When a president responds to a constitutional loss with contempt…loyalty-testing…and conspiracy insinuation…you are no longer dealing with a man who sees the presidency as an office.
You’re dealing with a man who sees it as a self-extension.
The country exists to validate him. The economy exists to serve his story. The law exists to be worked around. Courts exist to be praised when they comply and smeared when they don’t.
That’s why this speech mattered.
Because when the nation needed steadiness…he showed us the truth: his first loyalty is not to the country. It’s to himself.
Later this evening, I’ll publish a follow-up to this piece.
Because the Supreme Court didn’t just block a tariff. It drew a boundary…and Trump’s entire political identity is built on treating boundaries as insults.
So the next question isn’t whether he’ll try to get around the ruling.
It’s how hard he’ll push…which levers he’ll grab next…and who pays the price when he does.
In the follow-up, I’ll walk through the options he’s already signaling…plus the “stronger” workarounds presidents reach for when the clean route gets shut down:
Quotas, bans, export restrictions…financial pressure…border slow-walks…emergency authority gymnastics…and the kind of retaliatory spiral that doesn’t just “punish other countries.”
It punishes American families at the checkout line, American businesses on the supply chain…and American workers when markets start snapping shut.
In other words: if he can’t legally tax the world with tariffs, the danger is he tries to strong-arm the world instead…and the United States becomes collateral damage in his need to win the scene…dominate the room…and never be seen as limited.
If you want to understand what comes next…and why it could be messier than tariffs…watch for that follow-up tonight.
#HoldFast
Back soon.
-Jack
Jack Hopkins
Sources / Further Reading
AP: Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s sweeping tariffs (Feb. 20, 2026)
The Guardian: Court ruled tariffs illegal under IEEPA; Congress holds taxing power
Transcript excerpt of Trump’s opening remarks (RealClearPolitics)
End with one clear in-app action:
If you’re in the app, Restack this so more people see the actual posture he took after being told “you don’t get to do that.”
He literally said.. " I can do whatever I want" and that he is now going to impose even more stricter tariffs (paraphrasing about tariffs).. Made it clear he will defy the SC. He needs to be removed now. Hecwas truly himself.. The unhinged self.. In front to the whole world. Maybe the SC will revoke his blanket immunity. Maybe Congress will now function. He is a clear and present danger.
For me, I’m noting his praise for Kavanagh, a fellow sexual predator.