Speaking from a darkened Press Briefing Room with a makeup-caked hand gripping a large-font statement, President Donald Trump derided Supreme Court justices who opposed him as disloyal “lap dogs.”
The screed came after the court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs as illegal on Friday, dealing him a blow some experts described as among the most significant for any president in modern history.
Trump’s outrage was not entirely spontaneous.
Photographers captured him holding a prepared statement, printed in large font, in his right hand—the same hand that was, yet again, smeared with makeup, covering up a bruise that now perennially ails the 79-year-old president.
The Daily Beast has led the way in documenting the growing signs of Trump’s aging and worries about his health, including his frequent hand bruises, severely swollen ankles, and his seemingly endless struggle to keep his eyes open during important meetings and events.
In a statement on Friday, Karoline Leavitt suggested to the Daily Beast—not for the first time—that Trump’s bruised hand is due to his frequent handshaking.
“President Trump is a man of the people and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history,” her statement said. “His commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.”
The typically brightly-lit Press Briefing Room was also noticeably dimmer during Friday’s speech.
It is unclear whether the lighting decision was intentional, and the White House did not reply to an emailed question about the matter.
However, the White House emailed the Daily Beast a link to an X post by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, who shared a photo of Trump in the darker setting and wrote, “Dark MAGA. President Trump will not be stopped.”
The president struck a sinister tone in his address, insulting the six justices who ruled against him, including two of his own appointees, as a “disgrace to our nation” and, spectacularly, “disloyal to the Constitution.”
Trump went as far as to accuse two-thirds of the court of being swayed by foreign interests and unnamed “slimeballs” and “sleazeballs” from elsewhere on the globe.
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, each appointed by the president in his first term, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed by Republican George W. Bush, joined the court’s liberal wing to rule that Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries around the globe.
Trump told reporters in the White House Briefing Room that he would defy the court and implement new tariffs anyway. He said he would use a set of trade powers, known as Section 122, to impose a 10 percent global tariff for all countries.
It is unclear what will happen to the almost $200 billion in tariff revenue the federal government has collected since last spring.
Trump has made promises—like his supposed $2,000 Trump refund checks for taxpayers—that require tariff revenue to fund.
Trump is slated to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday—an annual address that the Supreme Court justices attend at the U.S. Capitol. Asked if those who ruled against his tariffs were still invited, Trump responded, “Barely.”
“Honestly, I couldn’t care less if they come,” he added.
