The Supreme Court told Trump his tariffs were illegal. His response was to slap on a new 15% global tariff using a law that expires in 150 days. And now — today — he’s boarding a plane to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping. The man who spent a year screaming about China eating America’s lunch is flying to China with the legal equivalent of a parking ticket in his back pocket and calling it leverage.
Trump got his signature economic policy struck down 6-3 by a court that includes three justices he appointed. His replacement tariffs are temporary, weaker, and everyone knows it. Xi knows it. The markets know it. The only people who don’t seem to know it are the ones still wearing red hats and pretending this is 4D chess. He’s walking into that summit like a guy returning a broken TV to Costco without a receipt — loud, confident, and leaving empty-handed.
Meanwhile American workers are paying $1,230 more per household because of a tariff regime that a federal court just called illegal. Factory jobs are down. Inflation is up. But sure, let’s see what Art of the Deal magic happens when the guy who just got smacked by his own Supreme Court tries to stare down the second largest economy on earth.