By MOCK NEWS NETWORK | February 20, 2026
WASHINGTON — In what historians are already calling “the most unhinged 48 hours in modern presidential history,” Donald Trump launched a furious attack on the Supreme Court Friday after the justices ruled 6-3 that he cannot, in fact, simply wave a wand and impose unlimited tariffs on the entire planet . Then, because one tantrum simply wasn’t enough, he reportedly followed it up by sharing a digitally altered image of Chief Justice John Roberts with a sombrero and a racist caricature of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries eating watermelon-flavored tariffs. (Okay, we made that last part up. Probably.)
The trouble began when the Court ruled that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping global tariffs was about as legal as using a food processor as a hairdryer. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, delivered the kind of news that makes dictators reach for the nearest fainting couch: the president cannot unilaterally tax everything that moves just because he’s feeling “emergency-ish” .
And how did the 45th/47th/Let’s-be-honest-he’s-not-going-anywhere president respond? With the grace and dignity we’ve come to expect.
“This is a DISGRACE!” Trump reportedly barked at a room full of governors, according to two people who are now probably under federal investigation . Sources say Trump was handed a note about the ruling mid-meeting, read it, turned the color of a cheap MAGA hat, and immediately pivoted to asking a governor about hurricane assistance before storming out like a soap opera star exiting after learning his twin brother is actually his father .
The Tariff Tantrum: A Masterclass in Losing Gracefully
Let’s break down what actually happened here, because the legal nuances matter when you’re trying to understand just how thoroughly Trump got owned.
The Supreme Court, in a decision joined by TWO OF TRUMP’S OWN APPOINTEES — Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, the judicial equivalent of your own children testifying against you in court — ruled that a 1977 law about emergency powers doesn’t let a president just invent taxes because he thinks trade deficits are “yuge” .
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented, warning that refunding billions in tariffs would be a “mess” . And honestly? He’s not wrong. But watching Trump lose with a 6-3 conservative Court he personally stacked is like watching someone burn dinner after buying all the best ingredients.
“This is CALVINBALL jurisprudence with a twist,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had written in an earlier case, noting that under the current Court, the rule seems to be “this administration always wins” . Well, not this time, Your Honor. This time, the little boy with the orange hair got sent to the principal’s office.
Trump called the decision “a disgrace” and criticized the court . Former Vice President Mike Pence — remember him? The guy Trump’s supporters wanted to hang? — actually praised the decision as “a Win for the Separation of Powers” . When Mike Pence is celebrating your legal defeat, you have officially entered an alternate dimension.
The Racism Roulette: Hit ‘Spin’ and See Who Gets Targeted
But wait! There’s more! Because no Trump temper tantrum is complete without a generous helping of racism.
Just days before the Court handed Trump his legal lunch, the president’s Truth Social account shared a video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama — two of the most accomplished, respected, and universally admired people on the planet — with their faces superimposed on the bodies of apes .
Yes, in 2026, the man sitting in the Oval Office thought it was appropriate to share content that wouldn’t have passed muster at a 1950s Klan rally.
The White House initially defended the post because of course they did. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed criticism as “fake outrage” . Then, after it became clear that even some Republicans have some standards, a staffer was blamed, and the video was removed . Trump, being Trump, did not apologize. Apologies are for people who believe in things like “decency” and “consequences.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded with the kind of language that makes C-SPAN’s delay function work overtime.
“This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder,” Jeffries said, before launching into a blistering attack that included the phrase “F**k Donald Trump” . Jeffries called Trump’s behavior “vile, racist and malignant,” which is frankly a little polite given the circumstances .
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Republican who has apparently retained the ability to recognize racism when it hits him in the face, called the video racist and urged Trump to remove it . New York Republicans Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota also publicly condemned the post . Imagine being so openly racist that Republican congressmen have to say something. That’s like making the kid who eats glue in the corner say “okay, that’s too far.”
The MAGA Math: 6-3 Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
Here’s the part that must really sting: Trump lost this case because two of his own Supreme Court picks betrayed him. Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch sided with the liberal justices . These are judges Trump personally selected, vetted, and shoved through confirmation, and they turned around and said, “Sorry, boss, the law exists.”
For a man who views loyalty as the highest virtue and treats the judiciary like his personal legal defense fund, this is the ultimate betrayal. It’s like training a dog to fetch and having it bring back a copy of the Constitution instead.
The decision opens the door to potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in tariff refunds . Companies that have been paying Trump’s illegal taxes since 2025 can now line up with their hands out. The Treasury has collected roughly $240 billion in tariff revenue since April 2025 . Refunding even half of that would be the largest government payout since the stimulus checks, except this time it’s going to corporations that imported stuff.
Trump had bragged that tariffs would boost the federal budget by more than $2 trillion over the next decade . Oops.
What’s Next: Emergency Powers, Emergency Tantrums
The administration has promised to use “different authorities” to reimpose many fees on imports quickly . Translation: we’re going to keep doing the same thing but use different paperwork. The Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 1974, and the Tariff Act of 1930 have all been floated as alternative legal justifications .
Because nothing says “stable governance” like frantically searching through 50-year-old laws to find loopholes that let you tax Chinese toasters.
Foreign leaders are watching with the kind of concern usually reserved for neighbors who start storing tires in their front yard. Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, warned that Canada should prepare for “new, blunter mechanisms” to be used . William Bain of the British Chambers of Commerce noted that the decision “does little to clear the murky waters for business” . That’s British for “we’re very worried and slightly embarrassed for you.”
The Racist Greatest Hits Collection
For those keeping score at home, this latest incident isn’t Trump’s first rodeo in the racism arena. His administration has been collecting racist moments like they’re Infinity Stones.
Just months ago, Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, withdrew after it was revealed he’d texted that Martin Luther King Jr. “was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell” . Ingrassia also reportedly admitted to having a “Nazi streak” and warned, “Never trust a Chinaman or Indian” . This was the guy Trump wanted to lead an ethics office.
Trump himself has previously shared imagery targeting Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero . The man has a type, and the type is “whatever offends the most people before breakfast.”
The Bottom Feeders’ Ball
So where does this leave America? The Supreme Court has told the president he cannot be an emperor. The president has responded by sharing monkey videos and calling the court a disgrace. Congress is… honestly, who knows what Congress is doing? Probably fundraising.
Senator Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, called the Court’s ruling “outrageous” and demanded that Republicans pass laws to codify Trump’s tariffs . Because when the courts say you can’t do something, the correct response is definitely to change the law rather than reflect on whether maybe, just maybe, you were wrong.
Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, celebrated the ruling and called on Congress to step up . Good luck with that.
The Yale Budget Lab calculated that without the IEEPA tariffs, consumers face an average effective tariff rate of 9.1 percent — still the highest since 1946, but down from the 16.9 percent they would have faced if Trump had gotten his way . So congratulations, America: you’re only paying slightly more for everything instead of massively more for everything.
The Final Word
Donald Trump built his political career on the idea that he’s a winner. He’s spent years telling anyone who would listen that he only hires the best people, that his judges would protect him, that tariffs are easy and beautiful and would make other countries pay.
This week, the Supreme Court told him he was wrong. His own judges told him he was wrong. The Constitution told him he was wrong. And in response, he reportedly called it a disgrace and went back to sharing racist content on social media.
If this is winning, losing must look absolutely catastrophic.
The man who wanted to be king learned this week that America still has something resembling a functional system of checks and balances. The tariffs are dead (for now). The racism is alive and well. And Hakeem Jeffries is out here dropping F-bombs on the president of the United States with the kind of righteous fury that makes you want to stand up and applaud.
It’s 2026. The Supreme Court is telling the president he can’t break the law. The House Minority Leader is telling the president to go [redacted] himself. And the president is sharing ape videos like it’s 2008 and he’s discovered 4chan for the first time.
God bless America. We’re going to need it.
Mock News Network is a satirical publication. None of this is real except for the parts that are, which is most of it. Please vote.