The President’s Unprecedented Supreme Court Attacks Must Be Rejected

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S UNPRECEDENTED ATTACKS ON THE INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY OF SIX U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES CANNOT STAND

As the President and President-Elect of the New York County Lawyers Association, we condemn President Trump’s unfounded attacks on the integrity and patriotism of members of the Supreme Court who ruled on Friday, February 20, 2026, that he exceeded his authority by levying certain tariffs. 

Not content with expressing his disagreement and disappointment with the decision, the President said the Democratic Justices in the majority have been “swayed by foreign interests . . . . [T]hese people are obnoxious, ignorant and loud. They’re very loud. And I think certain justices are afraid of that. They don’t want to do the right thing. They’re afraid of it.”

Citing no evidence, he charged that “foreign interests” or those who represent them “have a lot of influence over the Supreme Court, whether it’s through fear or respect or friendships, I don’t know.” 

Then, pivoting from charges of cowardice and disloyalty to the country, the President accused the Justices of dishonesty, stating, “I said, we can’t lose this case, but we can when judges are political, when they want to be politically correct, when they’re catering to a group of people in DC, maybe.”

But the President did not confine his criticisms to the three Democratic appointees.  On Truth Social, he wrote that the three Republican appointees who also voted against the tariffs “should be ashamed of themselves.”  In the case of the two Justices in the majority who he himself appointed, Hons. Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, he said they were “a disgrace to our nation,” and even “an embarrassment to their families.”  He criticized Chief Justice John Roberts as well.        

The rule of law that has always distinguished our country is jeopardized when the President of the United States demonizes the Justices of our highest court as unpatriotic political operators acting for foreign interests – indeed, of conduct tantamount to treason — because he disagrees with them.  This is unacceptable and cannot go unanswered.

We urge the Justices themselves, including the dissenters, to reassure the American people publicly and collectively that each of them carries out their responsibilities with an eye single on their sworn duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.  We understand, however, that the Justices ordinarily (and rightly) do not publicly respond to political criticism, no matter how baseless.  The distinctively personal nature of the President’s invective in this case may justify a departure from that practice.

As a Bar Association, we are not so constrained.  As an organization of lawyers, we have an obligation to defend the judiciary from unfounded attacks that threaten to undermine the credibility of our judicial institutions and the public’s view of the integrity of our Courts and judges.  We will not stand by silently while the President uses his bully pulpit to . . . well . . . bully, federal or state judges, no matter how highly placed, because he does not like their rulings.  That is not how the Rule of Law works, and we urge the President to heed that fact for the good of the nation.

Richard P. Swanson, President

Ronald Minkoff, President-Elect

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of our member, Andrew Irving, who was instrumental in the preparation of this statement.

About the New York County Lawyers Association
The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

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This statement has been issued by the NYCLA President and the NYCLA President-Elect.  It has not been reviewed by NYCLA’s full Board of Directors and does not necessarily represent its views.