Fox News Hosts Urge Trump to Steer Clear of Supreme Court Criticism in Key Address
Fox News presenters have issued a stark warning to former President Donald Trump, advising him to avoid any mention of the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn his tariff policy during his upcoming State of the Union speech. Trump is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, with expectations that his remarks will centre on his economic management and stringent immigration measures.
Hosts Caution Against Revisiting Court Ruling
During a segment on The Five on Tuesday afternoon, Fox News hosts Brian Kilmeade and Harold Ford Jr. explicitly urged the president to refrain from harping on the conservative-leaning high court's Friday ruling. The decision determined that Trump's sweeping tariffs on both adversaries and allies were unlawfully imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Ford Jr. told Kilmeade, "Brian, I'll be curious if the president criticises the Court. He was very critical after the tariff decision. I hope he does not, but it'll be very interesting to see if he refers to them as 'unpatriotic fools' like he did after the ruling."
Kilmeade responded by referencing past precedent, saying, "I hope he doesn't because remember the blowback President Barack Obama got, justifiably," alluding to when the former Commander-in-Chief spoke out against the Supreme Court's decision to repeal a ban on corporate and union election spending during his 2010 State of the Union address. "Mr. President, please don't comment on the Supreme Court justices," he added.
Trump's Previous Rebuke of the Court
Trump had previously rebuked the Court's 6-3 ruling on his tariff policy, labelling it "deeply disappointing" during an appearance in the White House briefing room on Friday. He went further, stating, "They're just being fools and lap dogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats ... they're very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution," referring to the three conservative justices who ruled against him.
The ruling saw Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump's own appointees, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, side with liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson to strike down the global levies.
Economic Concerns and Polling Data
Also on Tuesday, Fox News' Bret Baier commented on the potential fallout from the Supreme Court's tariff decision, noting, "You wonder how that's going to go with the Supreme Court Justices, several of them in the front row listening to the speech." Baier also highlighted economic anxieties, warning that "people are feeling pain from this economy, and you see that in polls."
An AP-NORC poll from earlier this month found that just 39 percent of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the economy, while 59 percent disapproved, underscoring the challenges he faces in his address.
As Trump prepares to deliver his speech, the advice from Fox News hosts underscores the delicate balance he must strike between defending his policies and avoiding contentious confrontations with the judiciary, all while addressing pressing economic and immigration issues before a national audience.
