Dwelling in the marble mausoleum of American jurisprudence, where nine robed arbiters play chess with the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court, Trump's supposed judicial phalanx, late last year, grilled his tariff regime like it's yesterday's barbecue. Scepticism dripped from every query – Gorsuch probing the "emergency" pretext for China slaps, Kavanaugh furrowing over IEEPA's limits, even Barrett batting lashes at boundless executive fiat. It's the same bench that swatted away 2020 election fraud suits like gnats at a picnic, yet here they are, poised to kneecap Trump's trade-war trident. Coincidence? Hardly. This is the bitter harvest of Trump's first-term folly: Appointing justices who, beneath the conservative cosplay, harbour the soul of proto-Dems Leftists – establishment enablers who'd sooner cradle Chevron deference than crush it. Trump, the dealmaker who boasted of remaking the courts, may have just handed his MAGA mandate a judicial shiv. Big fail incoming in 2026?
Let's rewind the reel to November 5, when Transpacific Steel LLC v. United States hit the docket – a steelmaker's salvo against Trump's 2018-2020 tariffs on foreign metal, levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Trumpies hail them as genius: $80 billion clawed back, supply chains yanked home, Beijing blinked into Phase One deals. But challengers cry foul – IEEPA's for genuine crises (think 1979 Iran hostages), not perpetual trade tantrums. Lower courts gutted the tariffs; Trump 2.0's DOJ defends them tooth and nail. Yet the Supremes? A wall of "what emergency?" NPR's got justices "hitting a wall of scepticism"; SCOTUSblog calls it "dubious." If they rule against (decision by summer '26?), billions refunded, tariffs torched – a gut-punch to Trump's "America First" armour just as he revs for round two on EVs and fentanyl floods.
The irony? This is the court Trump built – or botched. Gorsuch: The textualist firebrand who torched Chevron last term (June '24's Loper Bright win), yet here he balks at "emergency" as elastic as taffy. Kavanaugh: The confirmation circus survivor, whispering sweet separation-of-powers nothings, but dodging 2020's Dominion doubts like a Beltway pro. Barrett: The "fair lady" who penned Dobbs' dagger, but on fraud? Crickets. Remember Texas v. Pennsylvania (Dec '20)? Gorsuch's unsigned punt: "Not our lane." Sidney Powell's Kraken? Dismissed as "speculative." Sixty-plus suits, zero hearings – the very bench now nitpicking tariffs that worked, while ignoring ink-stained ballots and midnight mules. It's as if they view electoral integrity as partisan pixie dust, but trade law as sacred writ. Proto-Dems? You bet – establishment reflex, allergic to disruption, even when it's their guy's.
Blame the builder. Trump's first-term picks weren't fire-breathers; they were filigreed filly – pedigreed, polished, perilously palatable to the Acela crowd. Gorsuch? Scalia's shadow, but with a libertarian streak that loathes executive overreach (see his EPA smackdowns). Kavanaugh? Ford-fest survivor, but a K Street kitten at heart, clerking for Kennedy the Swing. Barrett? Notre Dame nice, but her Trump-era timidity – joining Roberts in dodging census citizenship questions – screamed "institutionalist" over insurgent. Trump crowed "three like Scalia," but Scalia would've shredded IEEPA pretzels and audited Georgia's ghosts. Instead, we got jurists who'd brunch with Breyer. First-term fumble? Monumental. He could've vetted harder. Result: A 6-3 "conservative" majority that's 5-4 on tariffs, wobbly as a Jenga tower in a windstorm.
This isn't Trump's first bigly L; it's leitmotif. The man who memes his way to Mars fumbles the fundamentals: Border wall? Half-built, then halted. Obamacare repeal? Ryan's dud grenade. Trade deals? USMCA tweaks NAFTA, but China's still snacking on IP. Courts? His "remaking" remade him – packed with polite patricians who prioritise "precedent" over populism. Now, as tariffs teeter (experts say even a loss leaves most levies intact via other statutes), it's finishing touches on a first-act flop. MAGA's fury? X erupts: "SCOTUS betrays Trump again!" one viral thread thunders, tallying 2020 slights. Polls? Rasmussen's latest: 58% back tariffs, but trust in courts? Dipping to 32% among GOPers.
The deeper rot? It's the swamp's siren song – even "winners" get Washingtonised. Trump's vow: "Drain it!" But appointments are the spigot, and he trickled reform. Fix? For term three (if there is one): Nominate outsiders – X-fluent, fraud-fighters, tariff tigers. Claw back Chevron's corpse fully. And for '26 midterms? Primaries for RINOs who'd sell out sovereignty for steak at Ruth's Chris.
Trump's no quitter – he'll pivot, proclaim victory in partials, meme the dissenters into oblivion. But this tariff tango? A stark reminder: Build your bench, or it'll bench you. The court that ghosted graft now ghosts growth. High court? More like high treason.