President Trump says his goal is to acquire Greenland, “this is not a short-term goal.”
President Donald Trump has said the goal is to acquire Greenland, not to lease it or hold it for the “short term.”
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has warned of financial disaster for the United States if the Supreme Court rules that his sweeping tariffs on global imports are illegal.
The country’s high court is preparing to issue an opinion as early as January 14th.
“If the Supreme Court rules against the United States on this national security bonanza, we’re screwed!” President Trump argued in a January 12 post on Truth Social that the United States would have to pay back “hundreds of billions of dollars” in revenue it had collected through new tariffs, as well as “trillions more in private investment.”
President Trump declared a national emergency over the U.S. trade deficit under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 as the legal basis for most tariffs. However, a majority of the Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism about President Trump’s use of emergency powers during oral arguments in November.
The federal government collected about $200 billion more in tariff revenue in 2025 as the president imposed tariffs on imports from around the world. Customs duties are paid by companies when they import goods from other countries.
But Trump said that if the Supreme Court rules against him, the amount of “quid pro quo” would extend to money that companies and other countries spend building factories and equipment in the United States to avoid paying higher tariffs.
“If these investments are added, we’re talking trillions of dollars! It will be a complete mess and nearly impossible for our country to pay for,” Trump wrote. “Anyone who says it’s quick and easy is giving a wrong, inaccurate, or completely misunderstood answer to this very large and complex question.
“It may not be possible, but if it were possible, the amount would be so high that it would take years to figure out the numbers we are talking about, and even who would pay, when and where,” the president added.
President Trump has often exaggerated the level of private investment in the United States that has been spurred by tariffs, and some companies that have promised to invest in the United States have yet to do so. President Trump did not say how he arrived at the “trillion” number.
The ruling against President Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs is central to his domestic agenda and would be a major blow to his favorite tool in trade negotiations with other countries. The ruling could have a major impact on President Trump’s claims regarding the global economy and broad executive powers.
In the weeks since the justices discussed the tariffs in oral arguments, Mr. Trump has routinely pressed the court publicly to rule in his side.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to issue its next decision on January 14th, but it is unclear whether that decision will include the tariff case that reached the Supreme Court on appeal from the Trump administration. The Supreme Court does not announce in advance which cases it will decide.
Following a legal challenge from business groups opposed to the tariffs, a federal appeals court ruled in August that most of President Trump’s tariffs were illegal.
President Trump has said he is preparing a “game two plan” to enforce tariff policy if courts rule that the tariffs are illegal, but other potential steps have been criticized as “slow” compared to using emergency powers.
Contributed by: Reuters
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
