US President Donald Trump speaks to media members upon arriving at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA on October 31, 2025.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
President Donald Trump, who recently indicated he would appear before the Supreme Court on Wednesday for oral arguments in a case that will decide the fate of many of his far-reaching tariffs, said he would not appear this time.
“I will not be in court on Wednesday because I do not want to distract from the importance of this decision,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
“In my opinion, this will be one of the most important and consequential decisions ever handed down by the United States Supreme Court,” he wrote.
President Trump said on October 15 that if he loses, “we will be weak, troubled and financially disorganized for years to come.”
“That’s why I’m going to go to the Supreme Court and listen,” Trump said at the time.
Had he done so, Trump would likely have become the first sitting US president to attend oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to reverse lower federal court rulings in two separate cases that found President Trump did not have the legal authority to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on April 2 imports from nearly every country in the world.
Tariffs range from a base line of 10% for many countries to a maximum of 50% for imports from Brazil and India.
The lawsuit also challenges the legality of separate fentanyl tariffs that President Trump imposed on some imports from China, Canada, and Mexico. President Trump said the tariffs on these countries were for failing to stop deadly drugs from entering the United States.
President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs.
“If the President is not allowed to impose tariffs, we will be at a huge disadvantage against every other country in the world, especially the ‘major’ nations,” Trump wrote on Sunday. ”
“In a real sense, we will be vulnerable,” he said.
