&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Tough day for Trump administration as US president dealt triple blow")
As the Trump administration still grappled with the fallout from the Epstein file release, Friday (Feb 20) appeared particularly tough for the Trump presidency, which dealt a triple blow during the day. The most significant comes from the United States Supreme Court, which ruled against Donald Trump's tariffs, saying that the US president has exceeded his authority in imposing sweeping duties that disrupted global trade.
Despite being a conservative majority, the court ruled six-three in the judgment stating that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) "does not authorise the President to impose tariffs."
Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the opinion of the court while Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
The decision blocks Trump from using tariffs as a tool, which he used freely to achieve political goals and renegotiate trade deals with countries aligned with his economic agenda.
The second setback came on economic polices, as the government data on Friday showed that the US economy recorded a moderate GDP growth rate of 1.4 per cent in the October to December quarter against earlier forecasts of 2.5 per cent.
Full-year GDP growth came in at 2.2 per cent in 2025, lower than the 2.8 per cent figure for the prior year.
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Trump, who often touts himself as the best president in US history in terms of managning economy, blamed Democrats for the faltering growth.
"The Democrat Shutdown cost the U.S.A. at least two points in GDP," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, about a half-hour before the official results were published.
He also pointed the finger again at the Federal Reserve, bashing outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell and calling for "LOWER INTEREST RATES."
The third hit comes in terms of the US president's approval rating, which plummeted to its lowest in his second term after nearly 13 months in the White House.
According to Reuters/Ipsos polls, Trump's overall approval rating in the four-day poll is reported to be 38%. The president was previously reported to be at 39% in January, which was a drastic decline from the 50% highpoint shortly after his 2025 inauguration.
A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed that a majority 58% said Trump was going "too far" with deportations of undocumented immigrants, which was an increase from the 50% reported in October. Only 12% of respondents claimed the president was "not going far enough", and 28% said he is “handling it about right.”
