Trump on Fox & Friends: "I have other ways of doing the same thing" after the Supreme Court ruled against him
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States, in an interview on Fox & Friends
On Fox & Friends on July 28, 2026, asked whether the tariffs he put forward over the previous days would hurt the economy, Trump said the tariffs have saved General Motors and are bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars. He said it is "a shame that I have to go a harder way for the tariffs" because the Supreme Court ruled against him in "a very close decision," and that he has "other ways of doing the same thing" that are more cumbersome. He added that the tariffs have "made this country a fortune." He did not name Section 301 or forced labor. CNBC's headline describes the new tariffs as the same as those the Supreme Court struck down; his words were "other ways of doing the same thing."
Responding to
Learning Resources, Inc. and six other companies said in their August 24, 2026 motion that USTR's determinations are "pretextual and preordained" and that the administration has now tried to re-create "materially the same global tariff regime under three disparate statutes."
“it's a shame that I have to go a harder way for the tariffs because the Supreme Court in a very close decision, you know, ruled against me. Now I have other ways of doing the same thing, but it's a more cumbersome, you know, way of doing it. But the tariffs have made this country a fortune.”
Original video
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Are Trump's Section 301 "forced labor" tariffs a lawful remedy, or a pretext to revive struck-down global tariffs?
On July 23, 2026, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, at President Trump's direction, imposed additional tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on imports from 60 economies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The duties took effect July 24. USTR says each economy failed to impose and effectively enforce a ban on imports of goods made with forced labor, which it found unreasonable and a burden on U.S. commerce. Businesses and 25 states sued in the Court of International Trade. They say the forced-labor rationale is a pretext for re-creating the global tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February, and that USTR skipped the country-by-country findings the statute requires. The Justice Department says USTR made findings for all 60 economies on a record of data, testimony and public comments. A three-judge panel heard argument on September 30, 2026. As of that date, no court had ruled on the Section 301 tariffs. The disputed question is whether the tariffs are a lawful remedy under Section 301 or a pretext to revive the struck-down global tariffs.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Fox News's clip of President Trump on Fox & Friends on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The host asks whether the tariffs announced over the previous days will hurt the economy. We transcribed the audio ourselves; CNBC's quotation of the same lines differs from our transcription only in commas.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
CNBC's report on the remark. Its headline and key points describe the tariffs as "doing the same thing" as those the Supreme Court struck down. Trump's own words, quoted in the article and in the Fox clip, are "other ways of doing the same thing."
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The Section 301 duties had taken effect four days earlier. The host's question, as we transcribed it from the audio, was "Are you worried that the tariffs that you put forward over the last couple of days will hurt the economy as they adjust in bringing manufacturing home?" Trump's answer began with General Motors and the chip industry before the passage quoted here.
After the quotation
Sara Albrecht of the Liberty Justice Center told CNBC the remark "bolsters our argument" that the tariffs are another way to reach the same result after the Supreme Court ruled against Trump. The Justice Department's September 4 brief says public statements by officials "do not vitiate the contemporaneously documented rationale" for USTR's actions. As of September 30, 2026, no court had ruled.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the Section 301 forced-labor tariffs, Trump defends the tariffs as beneficial and treats the route now being used as a workable substitute for the one the Court rejected. He does not say the tariffs are a lawful use of Section 301 and does not mention forced labor. We used Defended or excused because he supports the tariffs and the route to them. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because he calls the route harder and more cumbersome, but he attaches no condition to his support. The host asked about the tariffs Trump had put forward over the last couple of days, and Trump did not say which tariffs he meant. The Section 301 duties took effect four days earlier and CNBC reported the remark as about the new tariffs, but his answer also covers tariffs generally. The challengers cite the remark as evidence of pretext, and the government says officials' public statements do not change USTR's documented rationale. DI does not decide that dispute.
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More from this case
Read the full caseFormer trade officials Hills, Wolff and Maruyama tell the court the administration is turning "targeted authority" into "a sweeping power"
“This case concerns the Executive Branch's attempt to transform that targeted authority into a sweeping power to impose broad, economy-wide tariffs untethered from the statute Congress enacted. The text, structure, and history of Section 301 demonstrate that Congress intended the provision to address specific foreign acts, policies, or practices identified through a meaningful investigation and supported by findings of harm to U.S. commerce.”Read statement
Justice Department brief says USTR's actions are "consistent with the text, object, and purpose of the Section 301 statute"
United States Department of Justice
“The actions that USTR has taken at the direction of the President in this case are consistent with the text, object, and purpose of the Section 301 statute, as well as with the President's firm commitment to create a level playing field for U.S. workers, producers, and exporters by conditioning access to the U.S. market on concrete action to prohibit international trade in forced labor goods. The investigations and responsive actions under Section 301 are the culmination of decades of efforts by the U.S. Government to eradicate forced labor from international supply chains. USTR followed Section 301's "demanding procedural prerequisites" when taking those actions.”Read statement
Learning Resources and six other plaintiffs say the government's determinations are "pretextual and preordained"
Learning Resources, Inc.
“To be clear, Plaintiffs do not condone reliance on forced labor or forced-labor imports. But that is not the real issue here. Defendants' pretextual and preordained determinations do not satisfy the statutory requirements of Section 301 or the applicable Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") standards. The charade must stop.”Read statement
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- Trump on Fox & Friends: "I have other ways of doing the same thing" after the Supreme Court ruled against him
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The Dispute Index. "Trump on Fox & Friends: "I have other ways of doing the same thing" after the Supreme Court ruled against him". First published: 2026-10-01. Last updated: 2026-10-01. https://disputeindex.com/events/3956-on-fox-friends-on-july-28-2026-asked