White House trade adviser Peter Navarro exploded at a reporter after he was pressed on the Trump administration’s numerous calls for the impeachment of federal judges who have blocked the president’s orders.
The meltdown came in the wake of a stinging blow from a three-judge panel on Wednesday, which ordered a block on many of the president’s sweeping tariffs that have plunged global markets into chaos.
In a unanimous decision, three judges from the U.S. Court of International Trade, which included Trump appointee Judge Timothy Reif, ruled that the president had overstepped his power under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA).
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called the ruling a “judicial coup” on X, while Navarro doubled down with his own fiery rant.
“This has gotta stop, by the way, this weaponization of the judiciary to stop President Trump from doing what he promised,” Navarro said. “This has gotta stop. The people of America have the lowest level of confidence in the American judiciary they’ve had in a hundred years, and it’s getting close to what they think about Congress. And that’s a low bar to hit.”
The Independent’s White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg responded by asking Navarro why “every time you get a court decision you don’t like, you and your colleagues come out here and rail against ‘rogue’ judges?”
“See, wait, who is this guy?!” Navarro asked. “Tell me who you are, Sir.”
“I’m Andrew Feinberg,” the reported replied. “I work for The Independent.”
“Ok, so that is such a biased question. That is not a journalist question. That was like an op-ed, Sir. So, I’m not even gonna respond to that,” Navarro shot back.
The ruling came after weeks of market chaos triggered by Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” on more than 180 countries.
He announced a 90-day pause just a week later, granting a brief window for trade deal negotiations to take place between every country besides China—though the U.S. and China had finally agreed to a 90-day truce beginning May 14 to significantly lower tariffs.
Then, on Friday, Trump reignited his scorched-earth trade war, taking aim at Apple and Europe with fresh tariff threats.
The ruling halted most of the tariffs Trump imposed since being sworn in for a second term in January, though it doesn’t affect the levies slapped on sectors such as steel and car imports.
But on Thursday, a U.S. federal appeals court temporarily reinstated some of Trump’s tariffs, giving the plaintiffs until June 5 to respond.
Trump has regularly lashed out at federal judges during his second term.
In a fiery all-caps message on his social media platform on Memorial Day, the president called federal judges “monsters” who want the U.S. “to go to hell.” He accused them of suffering from “an ideology that is sick,” and that they had been “on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world” in the U.S. over the last four years.
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