Today in Politics, Bulletin 312. 2/20/26

… Trump had perhaps the worst day of his presidency so far - the Supreme Court overturned many of his tariffs, the 4th quarter GDP number was terrible, and inflation is rising again. He called an emergency press conference today that was completely unhinged where he alternated between raging and whining and threatening and crying about how unfair everyone is to him.

… NBC: “The Supreme Court delivered a major blow to Trump, ruling that he exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency. The justices, divided 6-3, held that Trump's aggressive approach to tariffs on products entering the US from across the world was not permitted under a 1977 law called IEEPA.”

… “The ruling invalidates many, but not all, of Trump’s tariffs. He could still seek to reimpose some tariffs using other laws. Trump called it a ‘disgrace’ after being informed about it during a meeting with governors. The ruling was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was joined by 3 liberal justices and 2 fellow conservatives, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, in the majority.”

… “The decision does not affect all of Trump's tariffs. But it upends his tariffs in two categories. One is country-by-country or ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, which range from 34% for China to a 10% baseline for the rest of the world. The other is a 25% tariff Trump imposed on some goods from Canada, China and Mexico for what the admin said was their failure to curb the flow of fentanyl.”

… CNN on Trump’s breakfast meeting with governors when he was given the news in real time: “Apparently the breakfast had been going well. Then Trump became enraged. He started ranting about the decision, not only calling it a disgrace, but started attacking the courts at one point saying: these fucking courts!”

… Neal Katyal, who argued the case and won it for the plaintiffs: "In America, the chief justice said only Congress can impose taxes on the American people, and that's what tariffs are. Tariffs are taxes."

… Some key moments from Trump’s rambling press conference after the decision, where he mostly called on right-wing hacks and foreign journalists while ignoring most major US media outlets:

• “The Supreme Court's ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I'm ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what's right for our country.”

• On Roberts and ACB: “I’m ashamed of certain members of the court. They are a disgrace to our nation. They are just being fools and lapdogs for the RINOs. They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.”

• Q: "Do you believe at the end of implementing these new tariff tools, the tariff rate will ultimately be higher than they currently are? Trump: Potentially higher. It depends. Whatever we want them to be."

• "I read the paragraphs. I read very well. Great comprehension. I read everything there is to read, and I said, 'We can't lose this case.'"

• Q: “Why wouldn’t you just work with Congress to come up with a plan? Trump: I don’t have to. I have the right to do tariffs, and I've always had the right to do tariffs, and it's all been approved by Congress, so there's no reason to do it.”

• Q: "Do you have to refund $175 billion? Trump: They take months and months to write an opinion and they don't even discuss that point. I guess it has to get litigated for the next two years. Q: You don't plan to honor refunds? Trump: I just told you the answer."

• "It's my opinion that the Court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think."

• Q: "What did you mean a moment ago when you said the Supreme Court was swayed by foreign influence? Trump: I think that foreign interests are represented by people that I believe have undue influence, they have a lot of influence over the Supreme Court."

• “The Democrats oppose this only because they want to go the opposite way. They’d like to pack the court. They want to put on 21 people. They want to pack the court, pack the Supreme Court, maybe they should do it. Maybe it’d be better off if they did it.”

• "I am allowed to cut off any and all trade or business with any country. In other words, I can destroy the trade, I can destroy the country, I'm even allowed to impose a foreign country destroying embargo. I can do anything I want to do to them. I'm allowed to destroy the country, but I can't charge them any money. I can’t charge them anything.”

• “Their decision's incorrect, but it doesn't matter because we have very powerful alternatives that have been approved by this decision.”

• "Tariffs have been used to end 5 of the 8 wars I've settled. I've settled 8 wars, whether you like it or not. Big ones. Nuclear. Could've been nuclear. The prime minister of Pakistan said yesterday that President Trump could've saved 35 million lives."

• Q: “You've mentioned multiple times foreign influence over the Supreme Court. Do you have evidence of that? Trump: You're gonna find out

… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): “The tariff case cried out for a unanimous decision. In the end, SCOTUS decided nothing and created a HUGE mess. But the underlying mess is created by sloppy congressional language in bills that are not adequately thought through - the half-assed and unprofessional process that I witness daily.”

… Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH): “SCOTUS’s outrageous ruling handcuffs our fight against unfair trade that has devastated American workers for decades. Now globalists win, factories investments may reverse, and American workers lose again. This betrayal must be reversed and Republicans must get to work immediately on a reconciliation bill to codify the tariffs.”

… Bloomberg’s Steve Dennis: “The problem for Bernie Moreno’s call to codify Trump’s global tariff regime is that bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate have already voted to nix at least some of them. Murkowski, Collins, McConnell, Sullivan, Cassidy, Tillis among the very tough votes here and Trump has a Bacon / Massie problem in the House.”

… Mike Pence: “Today’s 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court is a Victory for the American People and a Win for the Separation of Powers enshrined in the Constitution. American families and American businesses pay American tariffs - not foreign countries. With this decision, American families and businesses can breathe a sigh of relief.”

… Gavin Newsom: “Time to pay the piper, Donald. Your tariffs were nothing more than an illegal cash grab that drove up prices, hurt working families, and wrecked longstanding global alliances. Every dollar your admin unlawfully took needs to be immediately refunded - with interest.”

… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “The Court has struck down these destructive tariffs, but there is no legal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid. Instead, giant corporations with their armies of lawyers and lobbyists can sue for tariff refunds, then just pocket the money for themselves.”

… NBC’s Garrett Haake: “Even assuming the WH finds another way to impose some or all of the President’s tariffs, SCOTUS ruling today that he lacks authority to levy them unilaterally under IEEPA is a major blow. Tariffs are the President’s favorite tool for EVERYTHING, now largely shelved.”

… Sen. Mitch McConnell: “Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed authority that has rested with Congress for centuries. The American people already know that tariffs make building and buying here at home more expensive. And Kentuckians understand this painful reality better than most. But the use of IEEPA to circumvent Congress in the imposition of tariffs, already without precedent, isn’t just bad policy – it’s also illegal.”

… WH econ advisor Kevin Hassett was asked on CNBC about his widely condemned comment last week that economists at the Fed should be “disciplined” for finding that 86% of tariff burdens falls on American businesses and consumers: “Yeah, you know, I probably got a little emotional when I said that and I regret if the people who wrote the study feel like I personally attacked them. That was not my intent.”

… “GDP registered at an annualized rate of 1.4% from Oct-Dec, the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s a marked slowdown from the 4.4% rate in the third quarter, and came in lower than the 1.9% rate economists projected in a poll by data firm FactSet. GDP is adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation. Overall, the economy grew by 2.2% in 2025, the slowest pace since 2020.”

… Economist Heather Long: “Perhaps the most important data point released today: The personal savings rate just fell to 3.6% = the lowest level since 2022. Americans are dipping into their savings to keep spend, spend, spending. This can’t go on forever. Many Americans will get an income boost from larger tax refunds in the coming weeks, but they will have to tighten their belts eventually.”

… WSJ: “Core PCE was firm as expected in Dec. The monthly rise was 0.36%, and Oct and Nov figures were revised up slightly. The 3.0% increase was the largest since Feb (and on an unrounded basis, the 3.00% increase was the largest since April 2024).”

… Economist David Bahnsen: “This 1.4% ANNUALIZED rate for the quarter is horrific, and the spinsters and full-blown pathological liars who blame it on the govt shutdown KNOW it is not true. What has happened here is NOT about the bad Q4 GDP growth, but the disingenuous Q3 GDP number, which was almost entirely about the front-running of tariffs from the prior quarter being reversed and juicing the net exports number. May the people doing economics in the political realm regain their souls, or their minds, or both.”

… Reuters: “Underlying US inflation increased more than expected in Dec, and signs are pointing to a further acceleration in Jan, which would strengthen expectations that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates before June. The personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, rose 0.4% after an unrevised 0.2% gain in Nov.”

… Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo is still blaming Democrats in Feb 2026: “The growth is obviously much slower than we expected but that was because of the govt shutdown and that’s what the Democrats want to see which is why we’re in a partial shutdown again.”

… Republican pollster Rich Baris: “Last night, BigDataPoll found Texas Republicans are far less enthusiastic (32%) and certain (62%) to vote than Texas Democrats at 54% and 68%, respectively. Obviously that is correct. If Republicans don’t wake up soon, they will be humiliated and absolutely could lose Texas.”

… Meidas continues to get new commitments for our People’s State of the Union from Democrats who are boycotting Trump’s address. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT): “I’ve never missed a SOTU. But I’m sick of Trump’s lies, boasts and attacks on our democracy. This Tues, I’ll be at the People’s State of the Union with MoveOn and MeidasTouch, standing up for healthcare, affordability and decency.”

… Oversight Chair James Comer went on Fox and said there is no need for his committee to hold hearings on Trump’s connection to Epstein: “What we have seen from the millions of documents that have been released is that Trump is completely exonerated in the whole Epstein saga.”

… Oversight Dems responded: “The cover up continues, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

… Fox reporter Pete Doocy AF1 to Trump: Q - “Barack Obama said that aliens are real. Have you seen any evidence of non-human visitors to earth? Trump: Well, he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that. Doocy: So aliens are real? Trump: I don't know if they're real or not. He made a big mistake.”

… Trump later posted this: “I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Depts, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”

… Rep. Thomas Massie: “They’ve deployed the ultimate weapon of mass distraction, but the Epstein files aren’t going away - even for aliens.”

I was thinking this morning that this could be a slow news day and then the tariff decision came out, which proves again that we will never get any peace while this lunatic is president. We are about to get hit with some major snow in Maine tonight and Sat, but I am committed to go to a culinary event right now before going into hibernation tomorrow.

I will be out with the Weekend Bulletin on Sunday night. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

… NYT: “The husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the dept’s HQ after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them. The women said Dr. Shawn DeRemer, had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Dept’s building on Constitution Ave. One of the incidents,