President Donald Trump escalated his war of words with the federal judiciary over the weekend, calling the court system “rigged” after two major legal setbacks: a judge halted his plan to rename Washington’s Kennedy Center and the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of his tariff regime.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “our Court System is RIGGED, no different than our Political System is RIGGED, and the people of our Country know it and that is why I got overwhelmingly elected President, in Record Numbers, and will FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!” The outburst fits a pattern for Trump, who has repeatedly attacked judges—including those he appointed—when rulings go against him.
The immediate trigger was a decision by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, who blocked the Kennedy Center name change and a planned summer closure for renovations. Trump accused Cooper of bias, pointing to the judge’s wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, whom he called a “Radical Left Democrat” with ties to his political foes. Jeffress is a partner at Hecker Fink, the firm that represented writer E. Jean Carroll in her successful sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against Trump.
Trump wrote, “Amy is totally wired into the Left System, from her husband down, and it is impossible for me to be treated fairly. He has a total Conflict of Interest, and should be brought up on charges for not revealing these facts. That is why The Kennedy Center will soon be closed, probably never to open again.”
Media reports this week suggested the Justice Department was investigating Carroll for perjury in her civil suits against Trump, but the top federal prosecutor in Chicago denied any criminal probe is underway.
On the economic front, Trump also railed against the Supreme Court’s February decision that overturned most of his sweeping tariffs, ruling they exceeded his constitutional authority. “That is why, at a different level, and with different players, our Country lost the TARIFF Case, and is forced to pay back 149 Billion Dollars in money received from people who hate everything we stand for,” the president wrote, renewing his criticism of the refund process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is currently refunding more than $160 million to importers and brokers who paid tariffs before they were invalidated.
These legal battles come as Trump faces broader political headwinds. His approval ratings have slipped, and commentators have mocked his declining poll numbers amid controversies over his handling of the America 250 festivities. The president has also sought to shore up support among conservative voters by signing an executive order endorsing a slimmed-down childhood vaccine schedule, a move that has drawn both praise and criticism.
Trump’s attacks on the judiciary are not new. Throughout his second term, he has routinely targeted federal judges and even conservative Supreme Court justices when they rule against him. The latest broadside underscores the deepening rift between the executive branch and the courts, raising questions about the rule of law and the independence of the judicial system.
