The highlight reel of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics was defined by extreme trickscorkscrews, twists, and flips performed by snowboarders and freestyle skiers.
These aerial feats are complex, but in many cases, they can be traced back to a simple tool: hours spent spinning and flopping into oversize plastic bags.
Over the last 20 years, a handful of manufacturerssuch as Bagjump, Progression Airbags, and BigAirBaghave perfected the art of making massive plastic landing pads, ideal for aspiring extreme sports athletes to push the boundaries of their skills and test out new tricks year-round. Beginning with the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, athletes like Shaun White, Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis, and Sage Kotsenburg began making extensive use of this kind of training, similar to the way gymnasts would use foam pits.
[Photo: Bagjump]
The extreme levels the sports are being performed at are much safer due to Bagjump training, says Martin Rasinger, a former pro snowboarder and the inventor of the device.
Sites that have these systems, relatively few and far between, have become destinations for advanced training. WyEast Mountain Academy, an extreme sports-focused secondary school in Sandy, Oregon, installed a $4 million bag on its slopes last year thats open year-round. The 80-by-200-foot airbag, contoured to the curve of the mountain and installed using snowcat vehicles, is the largest in North America, and something that is relatively rare in the U.S. Smaller versions can be found at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard headquarters in Park City, Utah, and temporarily on Californias Mammoth Mountain.
Mt. Hood, Oregon. [Photo: Bagjump]
Troy Podmilsak, a U.S. freestyle ski jump competitor who landed a “Triple 18” in Milan during competitionthree off-axis flips combined with five full rotationstrained on the WyEast bag before the Games.
Bagjump says there are around 20 locations around the world decked out with their landing pads, including their own Banger Park facility in Scharnitz, Austria.
As soon as those bags come out, youre working on doing doubles, says Elijah Teter, athletic director at WyEast and a former Olympic coach and professional snowboarder. Now youre seeing triples and even quads.
Mt. Hood, Oregon. [Photo: Bagjump]
Designing a stronger airbag
The history of these bags is a Venn diagram of entrepreneurship, extreme sports and, in some cases, stunt crews. Before they became a key part of training, learning advanced tricks either meant experimenting during the relatively rare days with extensive fresh powderwhich acted as a natural shock absorber for adventurous athletesor putting up with the pain of repeated hard landings. And after a few jumps into the powder, the impressions left by skiers and snowboarders meant that trainees needed to find a new spot.
Rasinger tells Fast Company he got the idea for an oversize training bag after watching the airbag stunt fall during the ending of the 1997 movie The Game, starring Michael Douglas, too many times. He was so inspired, in fact, that he flew to Los Angeles, tracked down the stunt crew, and performed some 30-foot drop tests with a snowboard. He realized that to work for extreme athletes, such a bag would need to be larger, softer, and much stronger to hold up to metal snowboard edges.
Rasinger went home to Austria and built a test bag in Innsbruck in 2007; a clip of an early jump was posted to YouTube. Eventually, his company, Bagjump, would settle on a formula: a fiberglass structure with a specific PVC coating to withstand the force and cuts from boards and boarders. The company has since sold a few thousand such bags, mostly to trampoline parks or gymnastics facilities.
[Photo: Bagjump]
Users can get the bags in a variety of sizes, for sports including BMX biking and even climbing. Olympic training bags, specially designed for different snowboarding disciplines such as halfpipe and slopestyle, range from 50-by-50 feet to 120-by-230 feet. The stiffness of the bags can be adjusted to provide more give when learning a trick, and also to feel more like snow to mimic a real landing.
It’s softer and therefore also safer,because it is impact-absorbing and it does not bounce you away like netting or car tires or foam, Rasinger told ESPN in 2012. You still get a bounce from it. It’s better than hitting a concrete wallthat’s for sure.
[Photo: Bagjump]
These bags and ramp systems also have whats called a dry slope in-run, which simulates the feelingand gripof snow, giving those attempting a trick a much more realistic feeling during a practice session. That ability to train safely and consistently has made them a fixture of elite training, and one of many things pushing performances forward at events such as the Olympics.
Bagjump has had a significant impact on not just the safety aspect, but also the way the sports have progressed over the years, Rasinger says.
I called Burger King president Tom Curtis a few times this week, but it went straight to voicemail. You can try too, his number is (305) 874-0520.
Okay, so maybe its not his personal cell number, but Curtis is still taking calls and texts from anyone and everyone. On February 17, Burger King announced he would be spending at least four hours a day over the next two weeksincluding nights and weekendstaking unfiltered calls and texts from customers, hoping to hear their input about all things Burger King. Want a new Whopper variation? Call him. Have a complaint about your local BK? Call him. Come up with a fun marketing idea? Call him. Want to propose marriage? Maybe think twice.
Ive had a couple of those, but Im married, Curtis tells me after I eventually tracked him down.
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It all feels like an elaborate bit, doesnt it? This is the same brand that offered free Whoppers to clowns, hacked Google Home devices, offeed a free hamburger to anyone who deleted 10 Facebook friends, and tried to usurp the Belgian monarchy.
What corporate executive speaks outside carefully curated remarks, PR photo ops, and earnings calls, let alone mix with the hoi polloi?
The biggest challenge here for Curtis isnt answering all those phone calls, but convincing everyone that its a genuine effort to permanently embed customer opinions into the companys culture and operations, and not just another stunt for the marketing hype cycle.
People need to see action, says Curtis.
These first two weeks of Curtis taking calls is the latest move in the companys broader Reclaim the Flame project, a $400 million multi-year turnaround plan launched in 2022 for the then-struggling brand. That year was marked with restaurant closures and declining market share as Wendys overtook it as Americas no. 2 burger chain. Now, its heading in the right direction. Fourth quarter revenues were up 2.1% to $383 million. (Meanwhile, Wendy’s? Don’t ask.)
This is a compelling example of what too few brandsand company executivestake to heart. Despite all the technology, social media, and always-on mentality, so many companies still find themselves out of touch with what their brand is in culture and to the people they are serving.
Witness the seven circles of Super Bowl hell Ring found itself in after what it saw as an ode to lost dogs, turned into public fury around mass surveillance. On the other hand, Lays is hyping a recent price drop across PepsiCo Foods brands on social and giving credit to customer feedback.
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Have it your way
In 1974, Burger Kings slogan was Have it your way, putting a focus on customer menu customization. So the idea of rooting the brand in customer feedback isnt completely out of left field.
This idea of Curtis, and the brand more broadly, taking direct calls from customers started small. When he first joined Burger King in 2021, Curtis got the ball rolling by asking everyone on the leadership team to wear a brand logo of some kind as much as possible whenever theyre traveling, or even at the grocery store. The idea was that the logo would be a magnet for real people to talk about the brand unfiltered. Sure enough, at every weekly leadership meeting, stories began piling up.
About four months ago, we said, Hey, what if we took this to a whole new place and just wide open, let everybody in as much as we could, just to get as much feedback as possible? says Curtis. That was the spirit behind this.
Utilizing customer feedback is something Curtis has some experience with. He was at Dominos when that chain launched its Pizza Turnaround that used direct customer comments to spark that brands resurgence. Curtis also points to Dominos famed Pizza Tracker, launched in 2008, as a result of listening to customer feedback.
It was an answer to an insight, he says (that insight being customers wondering, Hey, where’s my pizza?). And I think what we’re doing here is similar. We’re going to get a variety of insights from this process, but I want to emphasize it won’t be a two-week process. This is a kickoff to a permanent process.
Burger King has spent the better part of a decade building a cheeky challenger brand image, through irreverent work of varying success. The creepy King mascot that began popping up in 2004, was permanently retired in 2015. The brand phased him out because, frankly, even if he was making the stoners giggle, he was scaring the kids.
Whopper Detour in 2019, which used geo-fencing and its app to offer anyone within 600 feet of a McDonald’s a one-cent Whopper, was a legitimate hit, driving app downloads and enthusiasm. But Moldy Whopper (2020), which was a very artful, 34-day time-lapse video of their signature burger rotting and becoming covered in mold to make the case for its fresh ingredients, was more a marketers darling than a wide success.
Curtis says the goal now is to make sure the brand image is genuine and likeable, which can still include fun campaigns, but must be rooted in that customer connection. He credits CMO Joel Yashinsky and the brands agency partners like BarkleyOKPR for its new positioning. Let’s be a brand by consumers, and let them define where it goes, he says. That really is empowering people to feel like the architect of this brand.
Real humans?!
One of the first areas of AI implementation for many organizations is in customer service, where chatbots are used to process mass amounts of customer feedback into digestible reports quicker than ever. Research firm Gartner has predicted that AI will autonomously solve 80% of common customer service issues by 2029. But Curtis says that there is a risk of losing touch amid the waves of data.
There’s just a magic in human interaction that I think we’re in danger of losing if we allow those processes to completely take over how we understand the consumer, he says. So by institutionalizing and operationalizing human interaction, real human interaction, I think we can unlock a powerful force of understanding of the consumer, because they’re legitimately and genuinely being heard and reacted to.
Its a surprisingly rare approach, but not wholly unique. E.l.f. Beauty, for example, has largely built its brand around how it engages with and implements ideas from its community. CMO Kory Marchisotto has often talked about how the brands participation on platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and beyond is all about what its customers are saying about the brand and the places theyre saying it, and those signals become a guide that shapes everything that follows.
The starting point is cultivating community, Marchisotto told The Drum in December. Were able to catalyze community data into insights and once we have that we co-create. We co-create content experiences, platforms, products that are for them, by them.
Burger King has already begun that process with its Whopper By You work launched last summer, which solicits ideas for new Whopper variations from customers and then releases them as limited edition drops like the BBQ Brisket Whopper and Crispy Onion Whopper. According to the company, its received more than 600,000 submissions, and considers the releases so far among its most successful limited edition products.
This approach is in line with other chains looking to make personalization more fun and community-oriented by featuring fan suggestions as limited menu items. Starbucks, for example, launched its “secret menu” last summer and asked customers to submit and vote on their favorite customized beverages.
Burger King isnt abandoning utilizing complex data analysis to make sound decisions, though. After finding that its apple pie dessert was the most requested discontinued menu item at its drive-thrus, the brand brought it back in January for the first time since 2020.
Suspicion economy
Ad agency BarkleyOKRP has been Burger Kings lead ad agency since 2022, and worked closely with the brand on not only this overall idea, but how to tap into it for brand marketing campaigns. The challenge is walking the tightrope between hyping the idea that Curtis and his team want to hear from you, without making it feel disingenuous.
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The age of AI slop, media manipulation, and waves of brand BS has helped forge (or accelerate) a suspicion economy, where no one really thinks anything is sincere. BarkleyOKPR executive creative director Matt McNulty says what got Curtis and his team excited was how listening to peoplehearing the good, bad, and uglywas vulnerable. People often think vulnerability can appear as weakness, at least in the cultural lexicon of brands, says McNulty. But this is sincerely vulnerable. It’s asking someone, how can I be better? And it’s honest.
This all sounds rather obvious for brands who are constantly talking about how they want to resonate with culture. So why isnt this approach more common? McNultys fellow executive ceative director Ben Pfutzenreuter says it comes down to risk. If you look across corporate America, I think you see a position of hedging and risk mitigation, says Pfutzenreuter. But I think the answer to a culture of anxiety and risk mitigation is actual conviction.
Not a stunt man
Ultimately, the only real way to combat suspicion is with consistent action. As Curtis says, this is only the beginning.
So far there have been largely two types of feedback: The kind about peoples local restaurant, and then that about the broader brand, like menu items and marketing. The good news on the feedback about their local experiences is we’ve got those channels set up, says Curtis. We’re calling the owners of those restaurants back. Many of those restaurants we own ourselves. So they’re going to see that type of change instantly. Brand actions will take longer. If I’m going to change the french fries, I’ve got to do the right research, testing, and set up suppliers to be able to support that.
Unfortunately for Curtis, until a major product or innovation of some kind that customers can really see, touch or taste emerges, were forced to take his word for it. Thats not lost on him, either. In fact one of his biggest challenges is making sure the focus remains on the feedback and not talking about the feedback.
The agency is trying to do its job and capture amazing content, he says. But I’m trying to make sure that everybody feels heard and knows that this isnt a marketing stunt.
For now, the only way to do that is to keep putting Curtis on the phone and let him cook.
How are you feeling about the stock market these days? Depending on who you talk to, the American economy is either poised to soar into the stratosphere or fall off a cliff. As the current administration has been delighted to point out, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently closed above 50,000 for the very first time.
However, that does not reassure the 72% of American consumers who, according to Pew Research, feel pessimistic about the economyciting concerns about the cost of healthcare, food and consumer goods, and housing. If the pessimists are correct, those high consumer costs will negatively affect the stock market sooner or later.
Even with the current good news about the market, theres a reason why it feels like were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. We are all facing a great deal of uncertainty as investors and consumers, between recent (albeit temporary) market volatility in response to political and economic news and the way AI is disrupting the market and the economy.
Its enough to make you want to cash out all your investments and bury the moolah in your backyard. But just because it feels like were ripe for a market crash doesnt mean theres one on the horizon. And if there is a correction coming, there is plenty you can do to prepare for it.
Heres what you need to know about positioning yourself and your money for a potential market crash so youre not left picking up the pieces.
Know what you have
Answer honestly: do you know where all your 401(k)s are?
If youre not sure, youre not alone. Unclaimed retirement accounts are a serious problem that the Department of Labor is working to rectify. As of 2025, there were approximately 31.9 million retirement accounts, totaling about $2.1 trillion, left behind or forgotten by employees leaving the sponsoring workplace.
The stress of watching the economic roller coaster while feeling completely powerless is bad enough. Adding the sense that you dont even know what you have, where it is, or if theres anything you can do to protect yourself is just gilding the anxiety lily. Thats why the first step in preparing for a potential market correction is to make sure you know where (and what) all your investments are.
Start by identifying all of your accounts and reclaiming any that you have lost track of. In addition to the DOL, you can also check the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits for any missing accounts. But you can also contact the human resources department of previous employers for help.
Even if you dont have any misplaced retirement benefits, now is also a good time to review all of your accounts and investments. Do you know what you are invested in? Do you know why?
Knowing what you currently have can help you make informed decisions going forward, whether you assume a future of economic sunshine or storm clouds.
Figure out how to stay the course
Market crashes are terrifyingbut unless you cash out your investments, they can be temporary. When you see your portfolio lose a huge percentage of its value, its human nature to want to stop the bleeding. But you need to stay the course until the market bounces back, because selling your investments right after a crash means locking in the loss.
This is much easier said than done, of course. Even the most risk-loving, ice-in-their-veins investors will feel their stomachs drop when their portfolios suddenly have a lot fewer zeroes than they did the day before. Thats why its a good idea to figure out ahead of time what will keep you from panic-selling if there is a sudden market downturn.
Some strategies for staying the course include:
Invest in quality companies/stocks/indexes that are likely to survive a recession. Now is a good time to make certain you understand your investments.
Make sure you have enough liquidity. If you treat any of your investments as a potential emergency fund, set up another fund or source. If youre unable to transfer any of your investments into a more liquid asset, consider opening a HELOC as an alternative.
Look for opportunities to invest. Market downturns can be a good time to purchase under-priced assets. (Just dont be one of those jerks who crows about getting stocks on sale all over social media. Read the room, dude.)
Go on a news diet. You dont need to know every dip and drop in the market. Youll feel better when you put your phone down and youll save money on all the antacids you dont have to buy.
Rebalance your portfolio
Part of a well-balanced money diet is making sure you dont have too many eggs in one basket. You probably already diversify your portfolio by splitting your investments into long-term, higher-risk/higher-reward investments, medium-term, lower-risk investments, and short-term, low-risk investments.
While most investors think about how they want to diversify their portfolio when they start investing, it can be easy to forget to rebalance that bad boy when the ratios get out of whack.
Thats why regularly rebalancing your portfolio should be part of your semi-annual or quarterly money management plan. This financial task is when you check on where your investments are compared to your investment strategy and goals. Then you buy or sell investments to bring your portfolio back into balance.
For example, anyone currently invested in the Dow is probably over-invested compared to their investment strategy or goals. Selling off some of that investment and investing the money elsewhere will not only allow you to capture the growth that the Dow is currently enjoying, but it will also help protect you from potential future volatility in the Dow index.
Getting into the habit o rebalancing your portfolio will help ensure that you keep market growth when it occurs, which can help you keep your cool and stay invested through downturnsbecause you know you kept the gains and can wait out the losses.
Make like a hitchhiker and DONT PANIC
No politician, economist, or MBA has a crystal ball, so theres no telling what the stock market will do in the future. But if your spidey senses have been tingling about the possibility of a market downturn, there are some practical steps you can take to protect yourself and your portfolio if were headed for a fall.
Start by making sure you know what you have. If youve lost track of any of your retirement or investment accounts, take the time to hunt them down so you feel in control of your funds. Now is also the time to double check that you know what youre invested in and why.
From there, figure out what youll need to stay the course in case there is a crashsince a loss in value is temporary until you cash out. Some good strategies for staying the course include ensuring that youre invested in quality assets that you understand, providing yourself with enough liquidity to handle an emergency during a downturn, planning on purchasing underpriced assets, and putting yourself on a news diet.
Finally, regularly rebalancing your portfolio is good investment hygiene, but it will also help you feel more confident when staring down a potential market correction, since youll know youve captured the growth of the market when it went gangbusters.
Market crashes arent inevitable, even if stomach-churning fluctuations probably are. But panicking is always optional and you can opt out.
Biometric authenticationthe ability to unlock your devices by using just your face or fingerprintis one of the few smartphone features that, even today, leave me feeling like were living in the future. When I was a kid, technology like facial recognition was limited to science fiction. But as cool and useful as biometric authentication is, the technology can also leave us vulnerable. Heres whyand how to protect yourself.
Its not just journalists and activists who can have their biometrics used against them
Last month, journalists got a stark reminder that their biometrics might not keep the data they have on their devices safe from law enforcement searches. While the Fourth Amendment usually protects an individual from having to turn over a PIN code or password for a device, courts have generally ruled that the same protection doesnt apply to biometrics.
This means that in some cases, authorities can compel you to unlock your phone with your fingerprint or facial scan. Its why many press freedom and civil liberty organizations have long advised journalists and activists to disable biometric authentication like facial recognition on their devices and return to requiring a passcode to unlock them.
But its not only journalists and activists who have to worry about their phones’ biometrics making themand their datavulnerable. A phones most convenient identity verification feature can leave any one of us exposed. There have been reports of people unlocking their partners’ phones using their biometrics while they were sleeping, as well as reports of criminal gangs forcing victims to unlock their phones with their biometrics to steal cryptocurrencies.
Of course, sometimes forced biometric unlocks are less nefarious. Ive heard parents complain that their children have unlocked their phones by holding the device up to their face, or with a touch of their fingerprint, while they were sleeping, in order to disable software that restricts the internet in their house after certain hours.
If someone wants to gain access to your phone, and you happen to be physically available (unknowingly or not), all the person needs is access to your face or finger to do so.
Giving up convenience for more security
While biometric authentication is one of the most convenient features of todays smartphones, the scenarios above exemplify how the technology can leave us at risk. However, if you are in a situation where you believe that your biometrics may leave you vulnerable, there are, thankfully, some easy steps you can take to mitigate this risk.
The first is to permanently disable biometric authentication on your smartphone. Doing so means youll need to enter your passcode every time you unlock your phone. Yes, it will take a couple of seconds longer to get to your home screenbut it also means that no one can steal your face or finger and unlock your phone while youre sleeping.
To disable your iPhones biometrics (called Face ID or Touch ID, depending on your iPhone model), open the Settings app, tap Face/Touch ID and Passcode, and then toggle the iPhone Unlock switch to “off.”
For Android users, disabling the facial or fingerprint biometric feature may differ slightly, depending on your phone model. On a Pixel phone, you can disable fingerprint unlocking by going to the Settings app, tapping Security and privacy and then Device unlock, and then deleting your registered fingerprints.
When in doubt, restart
Of course, biometric authentication like facial recognition is one of the great conveniences of modern lifeone that many of us would have a hard time giving up for good. If you fall into this camp but still want the extra security that disabling biometric authentication provides, you can quickly deactivate the biometric unlock feature on your iPhone or Android device by restarting it.
When your phone shuts down and restarts, your biometrics will not unlock the device until after you enter your passcode. Many activists use this trick when crossing borders or attending politically contentious events.
And its not a bad one to remember right before you turn off the nightstand light, if you think your kids might be waiting until you fall asleep to snatch your phone.
Olympians arent just physically exceptionaltheyre masters at managing where their attention and energy go.
Cognitive research finds a key link between working memory and performance: elite athletes are better able to regulate their memory and attention than their less-trained peers, and this ability predicts better performance under pressure.
What separates peak performers isnt just effort, but also the discipline to balance their mental load. In other words: their thoughtload.
Consider thoughtload the invisible tax on your ability to perform. It consists of three problems that erode your effectiveness:
The cognitive demands of competing priorities
The emotional burdens of uncertain times
The depleted energy reserves that make everything feel more difficult
When thoughtload is high, even talented, motivated people underperform. But Olympians succeed because they refuse to carry unnecessary thoughtload. So how do you begin to reduce your own load? Four strategies can help.
1. Flip your focus
Olympians know that keeping their attention focused on performance is critical to achievement. Take the U.S. figure skating team, who had more than a few members skip this years opening ceremonies to stay locked in.
At work, we tend to do the opposite. Instead of starting the day with our eyes on the prize, we let our inbox and calendar dictate our priorities, hoping that enough activity will lead to success.
Lowering your thoughtload means flipping that logic. Begin with the outcome youre being rewarded for: more paid users, lower churn, a better accounts receivable balance. Then identify the few outputs that will move the needle and the activities that will get you there.
2. Budget your attention
Elite athletes also dedicate consistent hours to training, no matter how assured their place is as a champion: practice is always on the calendar. But at work, we frequently allow ourselves to switch priorities or allocate our time in the wrong places.
Think of your time as a finite resource to spend. Pick one critical outcome and decide how much of your attention it deserves; only after that, allocate your remaining time for other important outputs and even a few side pursuits. Defer, decline, or delegate everything else that doesnt fit in your attention budget.
3. Use an emotion track
Even with your gaze locked in, emotional distractions can come from within. For an athlete, it might be a fall in practice or a menacing new competitor. For you, its a missed target, a tense exchange, or an unwelcome piece of feedback. Emotions are unavoidable, but unprocessed emotions slow you down.
Olympians understand that emotional baggage from yesterdays disappointment can sabotage todays performance; take the many that use sports psychologists to work through poor performances and devastating crashes.
You can reduce the hold of your feelings with an emotion track, which helps pinpoint and reroute distracting emotions. It consists of four simple steps: place, name, question, act.
Notice the place youre experiencing the feeling, like sweaty palms or a racing heart.
Name the feeling youre experiencing precisely, like frustration or anxiety.
Question the story youre telling yourself about why youre feeling that way, and if its rational.
Choose one action that helps you move forward, whether it addresses the issue directly or just helps you get in a better headspace.
4. Hold an energy audit
Energy management isnt about indulgence or self-care. Its about making the right investments, so you have the physical, mental, and emotional energy when you need it most.
Olympians plan exertion and recovery with rigor. But at work, we often treat energy as unlimited until it suddenly runs out. There are back-to-back meetings, deadlines strung one after the next, new change initiatives starting before youve had the chance to embed the previous ones. All that adds up to fatigue that leads to poor decisions.
Instead, try an energy audit. List three activities that reliably energize you and three that inevitably drain you. Then make small shifts to increase your investment in the first group and reduce your exposure to the second. Even minor changes can make your thoughtload feel much lighter over time.
Elite performance isnt reserved for elite athletes. Its available to anyone willing to carry less so they can accomplish more.
In November 2025, the Trump administration announced a special park pass commemorating the nations 250th anniversary that featured images of two presidents: George Washington and Donald Trump.
Featuring the current presidentin place of the National Park Services usual landscape picturestriggered both a lawsuit and a social media movement to put stickers over Trumps face.
As a businessman, Trump has frequently emblazoned buildings and consumer productsshoelaces, an airline, an edition of the Bible, among many otherswith his own name.
During his current presidential term, his administration has put his name on numerous government propertiesperhaps most famously the Kennedy Center, but also money, monuments, and military equipment. In January 2026, Trump floated the idea Congress would rename both New Yorks Penn Station and Washingtons Dulles International Airport after him.
With Florida lawmakers considering renaming the airport near Mar-a-Lago after the president, the Trump Organization has filed an application to trademark his name for use in airports and ancillary activities, although the company said it would not charge a fee in the case of the Palm Beach airport.
As a communication professor who studies the First Amendment, I was intrigued by the federal actions and the protests theyve triggered.
Citizens certainly have the right to protest these decisions, like any government action. The First Amendment prevents the government from making laws that abridge freedom of speech.
But does the federal government itself have freedom of speech? And can a president put his name and image wherever he wants?
Free speech for government
The answer to the first question has already been answered. In a series of rulings, the Supreme Court has upheld the government speech doctrine, which allows the government as speaker to say whatever it wants.
Moreover, if the forum is governmental, the government may even be able to compel people to express its messagesfor example, with public employee speech that is part of job duties. The 2006 Supreme Court decision establishing that principle involved a deputy district attorney whod questioned the validity of a warrant, but the rule applies to other employees, such as teachers who have to offer instruction in state-mandated curricula.
The courts decisions in government speech cases imply that if people do not like the government speech, they should change the government with their votes.
However, some scholars and advocates argue that this relatively new constitutional doctrine gives the government too much power to drown out other viewpoints in the marketplace of ideas.
In most instances, the government cannot compel speech or force citizens to express a certain message. Compelled speech is not allowed when the government is forcing a citizen to endorse an ideological message.
For example, the Supreme Court allowed a Jehovahs Witness to cover the words or Die on his license plate, which included the New Hampshire state motto, Live Free or Die.
The First Amendment is not absolute, and some government regulations will infringe on speech.
The federal government has strict regulations on how the American flag should be disposed of, but it cannot punish someone who is burning a flag as a form of political protest.
Government control of its own products
What happens when the government itself hosts forums for citizen speech, such as placing monuments in a park or flying flags on government property? Can the government deny certain speech based on the speaker or message?
In such cases, courts have had to decipher whether the forum was purely governmental. To do so, they examine the history of the forum in which the contested speech takes place, who controls the forum, and the public perception of who controls it.
This brings us back to the question of Trumps name and likeness. As a constitutional matter, the Trump administration can express itself as it sees fit under the government speech doctrine. But in some cases, the administration may be bound by statute or formal contracts, as with the legal battle over the naming of the Kennedy Center, which was named by an act of Congress. The awsuit over the National Park passes claims that the administration is violating a federal law requiring that the winning entry in a public lands photo contest be used for the passes.
Still, I believe it would be difficult to win a lawsuit claiming that the new passes are a form of compelled speech, with bearers of the pass arguing they are being forced, in effect, to endorse Trump. Most people would likely see the park passes artwork as being controlled by the government and therefore a form of government expression, not a form of private expression.
Can people cover up Trump?
But the Trump administration may not be able to defend its policy of declaring passes null and void if the presidents image is covered by a sticker. Citizens protesting Trumps appearance by covering up the presidents image is protected speech, in my view. The governments action to void the passes is likely a violation of the First Amendment.
On the face of it, placing stickers on passes would appear to violate the long-standing Interior Department rule that passes are void if altered. Those regulations were content neutral and incidental to any particular message or cardholder.
However, the updated policy, voiding the pass if Trumps image is covered or marred, is more suspect. The new rules seem to be a direct response to the protesters political speech and, as applied, primarily aim to affect these stickers and speakers.
With an administration known for its social media savviness, it may not be convincing for officials to argue they did not know about the protest or that the policy was not a direct attempt to chill such speech.
The government will have the right to put Trumps name and images on more government property in many cases, but most resulting political protests, in my view, will also be protected speech.
Jason Zenor is an associate professor of mass communication at the State University of New York Oswego.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics may be winding down, but the memories will linger for years to come.
The competition began on Wednesday, February 4, with the official opening ceremony on Friday, February 6. A little more than two weeks later, the Games will conclude with an epic closing ceremony on Sunday, February 22.
So much action was packed into the event that it was a full-time job keeping up. Since a lot of people have actual full-time jobs, heres a look back at the highlights, endearing moments, and heartbreaks of the XXV Olympic Winter Games.
How can I track 2026 Winter Olympics medals?
First things first. You can stay up to date with all of the medals and medalists who have emerged victorious this winter with this handy medal count tracker on Olympics.com. Now for the highlights.
The first gold medal of the Games
While it is quite an impressive accomplishment to even qualify for the Olympic Games, lets be realmost athletes want to win it all.
Franjo von Allmen got to live out his wildest dreams when he took home the first medal of the Games for Switzerland in the mens downhill alpine skiing event. He liked winning gold so much that he did it again two more times.
His story off the slopes highlights the power of community.
When von Allmen lost his father when he was just 17 years old, it appeared that his skiing aspirations might have to be put on hold because of finances. Instead, those around him crowdfunded so the young athlete could continue to pursue his dreams.
Team USAs first gold medal
The first gold medal for Team USA came in the women’s alpine skiing downhill event. Breezy Johnsons time of 1 minute, 36.10 seconds, bested Germanys Emma Aicher by a mere 0.04 seconds.
Johnson is now one of only two American women to win the Olympic downhill. Her gold medal? Well, it broke shortly after Johnson was presented it. Thankfully, she eventually got a replacement.
Lindsey Vonns Crash
The other American woman to win a gold medal in alpine downhill skiing is Lindsey Vonnshe won it in 2010. She also has two bronze medals, one for the Super-G (2010) and the other for alpine downhill (2018).
On the same day of Johnsons win (February 8), Vonns 2026 Olympic medal dreams came to an unfortunate end when she crashed and fractured her left leg.
Curling baby
A happier Olympic moment involves the 1-1/2-year-old son of Swiss curlers Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann and Yannick Schwaller.
After his parents won their opening game in overtime, River took to the ice to get in on the action. Fans thought he looked adorable with the curling broom. Its never too early to begin your Olympic dreams.
A shirtless celebration
On the opposite side of the age spectrum, Austrian Benjamin Karl could not contain his excitement after winning gold in the men’s parallel giant slalom snowboard event.
After the medal ceremony, he ripped off his shirt to celebrate the achievement. It was his second consecutive win in the event, having also taken home gold in 2022. Karl proves that age is just a number, as his latest victory makes him the oldest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympic history, at 40 years and 115 days old.
This title was short-lived, as Elana Meyers Taylors life experience uncrowned Karl shortly after (see below).
Favorite foods of Olympic athletes
No matter how old they are, competitors have to fuel their bodies to compete. Communal meals in the athlete villages are there to help. In Paris, chocolate muffins were all the rage.
Meanwhile, several social media posts have celebrated different cuisines in Milan and Cortina.
Lava cake and tiramisu seem to be the sweet-treat favorites of the 2026 Games. For carb-loading purposes, pasta was served in the shape of the Olympic rings. This meal was a triple threat: delicious, pretty, and practical.
Ilia Malinins backflip
Backflips were once a no-no in the figure skating world. American Terry Kubicka made history at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, when he successfully landed the move in competition for the first time.
The next year, the International Skating Union banned it, citing safety and technical reasons. Backflips involve taking off and landing on two feet, whereas other jumps only utilize one foot.
The move didnt disappear from figure skating completely, even though it was outlawed. Many athletes chose to execute the move in exhibition skates. In the 1998 Nagano Games, French skater Surya Bonaly added it to her routine.
Last year, the International Skating Union reversed the ban, paving the way for American skater Ilia Malinin to do his thing in 2026. Malinin was dubbed the “Quad God” because of his ability to land a quadruple axel in competitions while continuing to raise the technical stakes even higher.
He was the clear favorite to win gold in mens singles figure skating. After the short program, he was even five points ahead of the pack. But he fell twice during the long program, resulting in an eighth-place finish.
Despite his heartbreak, he immediately congratulated gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorovteaching the world how to lose with grace. However, Malinin did take home a gold medal from the earlier team skating event, and it’s doubtful the Olympics have seen the last of him.
American womens hockey takes home gold
Things have long been tense between the United States and Canada, and we are not talking tariffs. The long-lasting rivalry between the womens hockey teams was on full display in the 2026 Winter Games.
This time around, Team USA took home the gold after a nail-biting final matchup. Amercan captain Hilary Knight scored the goal that tied the game, forcing an overtime battle. This set up Megan Keller to net the final nail in Canadas defeat. The crowd went wild.
Among the loudest supporters of the women were Haley Winns older brothers: Casey, Ryan, and Tommy Winn.
This trio went viral for wearing over-the-top matching outfits and posting their support on social media. The Winn familys home videos also show how Haleys brothers were instrumental in teaching her the love of the game.
Figure skating gold medal
More good news on the ice: Team USAs 24-year gold medal drought in womens figure skating was put to an end by Alysa Liu.
The 20-year-old had walked away from the sport when she was 16 because she was burned out.
After the short program, she was in third place. Her impressive performance to Donna Summers “MacArthur Park” focused on joy. This propelled her to win that gold medal.
A Canadian curling scandal
A less joyous occasion occurred when two Canadian curlers were accused of cheating.
The first incident took place on Friday, February 13, when Canada was up against Sweden. Canadian Marc Kennedy was accused of double-touching the stone, which is against the rules. He had some heated words for his opponent Oskar Eriksson.
The following day, a similar incident happened when Canadian women’s captain Rachel Homan faced more cheating accusations. These events caused the World Curling governing body to further explain the rules of the game.
The sport does not use video playback, so no retroactive penalties are added, as on-ice calls are considered final.
A wolfdog gets in on the action
Who said humans get to have all the fun at the Winter Olympics? Not this four-legged friend.
During the women’s cross-country skiing team sprint, Nazgul wanted to play. This 2-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog may not have won a gold medal, but he sure stole everyones hearts.
Sturla Holm Lgreids confession
They say cheaters never prosper, but Sturla Holm Lgreid has won five medals at the time of this writingthree silver and two bronze in the various individual and relay biathlon events (cross-country skiing and rifle shooting).
While Lgreids athletic feats are impressive, he went viral for another dramatic reason instead. During a live on-camera interview, he admitted to cheating on his ex-girlfriendin an attempt to get her back.
While this could be considered a grand romantic gesture, his ex does not appear to think so and issued a statement saying she wishes she wasnt in the spotlight.
Elana Meyers Taylors bobsled victory
Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, is no stranger to Olympic competition. She debuted in 2010 and has medaled in all five of her appearances.
Milano Cortina was her retirement year, and boy did she go out on top, winning her first gold medal. She was victorious in the monobob, a one-person bobsled event.
Her triumph was earned by being 0.04 seconds faster than Germany’s Laura Nolte. This mother of two almost gave up feeling guilty about the time the sport took her away from her family. This makes the viral moment of her signing to her boys that she won even sweeter.
Chloe Kims sportsmanship
American Chloe Kim is the golden girl of snowboarding. She was heavily favored to win gold in this years games, defending her 2022 win.
This was not how it went down on the halfpipe. Instead, South Koreas Gaon Choi took home gold, with Kim taking home silver. In a wonderful display of sportsmanship (instead of getting angry), Kim immediately went over to celebrate with her 17-year-old rival.
The sweetness didnt start there. Even before the games, Kims family helped bring Choi to the United States to train after seeing her potential, despite playing for different countries and teams.
Kim saw herself in Choi and acted as a mentor. Perhaps thats the true meaning of the games after all.
Alysa Liu, who quit skating at 16, didn’t ‘need’ a gold medal, she told reporters in Milanshe had already found joy.
The 20-year-old from California, who won the first individual Olympic gold in womens figure skating for the U.S. after 24 years, didn’t need to be champion. She says she was just thrilled to perform.
“I don’t need this [medal],” Liu said right after winning, full of joy, while cheering on her competitors. “But what I needed was the stage and I got that, so I was all good. No matter what happened.”
Liu isn’t feigning enthusiasm for the cameras. You can feel it radiating from her body when watching her skatewhich she did, flawlessly, when performing to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” this week in the long program routine that ultimately won her first place.
“That’s what I’m fing talking about!” she could be heard saying as she skated off the ice, knowing she’d just done something magical. Later, standing on the podium, she adorably jumped for joy, squealed, and hugged her competitors. It felt like she was sharing her bright light with them, and everyone watching in the audience, and at home.
The moment was truly special. Mainly, because one thing was made crystal clear: Alysa Liu came to the Olympics for the love of the sportnot for a bronze, silver, or gold medal.
It goes without saying that most athletes love their sport. But they also want to win. However, Liu’s journey has been different from that of most young athletes’, in more ways than one.
Just four years ago, the skater quit, citing burnout after a sixth place finish at the Beijing Winter Games. Burnout easily comes with the territory when you’re a professional athlete. However, Liu focused on herselfon being a teenagerand finding joy outside of the rink.
“I was going to concerts, which I never could have done before,” she told NBC Sports. “I also got my driver’s license. I did a whole year at college. I went on vacation for the first time. I went skiing. I went snowboarding. I got to do so many different things that I never would have done had I stayed in the sport.”
The step back was crucial for many reasons, like saving the Olympians mental health. But it’s also likely what saved her from quitting skating forever, because she was able to invest in herself in other ways. . .and simply be a kid for a while.
At the end of the day, Liu returned to competing because she simply loved skating too much to stay away. One of her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo, even tried to talk her out of it, but her spirit was unstoppable. Alysa is different, said DiGuglielmo, who coaches Liu alongside Massimo Scali, per NBC. We know she wasnt here to win a medal. She was here to skate and to enjoy it.
These titles are huge, but I dont want them to overshadow who I am and what I do and what I am all about, Liu said. Winning isnt all that, and neither is losing.
All you have to do is watch Liu perform to know that the most important thing to the spirited athlete is not medals. It’s her true love of the sport and a profound joy at getting to keep doing it.
And that was something she found before setting one skate on the ice in Milan.
As major employers have slashed jobs over the last year, many of them have cited artificial intelligence or automation to justify the cuts. AI was referenced in nearly 55,000 layoffs in 2025, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmasand the latest figures suggest that trend is continuing into this year alongside a record-high surge in job cuts, which crossed 108,000 in January alone.
But economists and experts have repeatedly said that employment data does not indicate AI is replacing jobs en masse at the moment. And it seems even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shares this skepticism over whether AI is actually responsible for the layoffs roiling the workforce.
“I don’t know what the exact percentage is, but there’s some AI washing where people are blaming AI for layoffs that they would otherwise do, and then there’s some real displacement by AI of different kinds of jobs,” Altman said in an interview during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi this week. “I expect we’ll see more of the latter over time.
There are plenty of potential explanations for ongoing layoffs, from immigration policy to broader economic uncertainty, but business leaders have been quick to cite AI. Companies like Citigroup have claimed AI will reshape how work gets done and have alerted employees to additional layoffs in the coming months. UPS has cut tens of thousands of jobs over the last year, and CEO Carol Tomé claimed automation is a core part of the business becoming more efficient. Tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft have declared AI will revolutionize how they work, all the while trimming headcount under the guise of becoming leaner.
Despite what business leaders say about the promise of AI, however, research shows that the labor market has not yet seen a dip in employment across the jobs that are most likely to be disrupted. Unemployment figures also do not indicate that workers are being replaced by AI in significant numbers just yet.
Altman noted, as many experts have, that AI would likely disrupt more jobs over time. Of course well find new kinds of jobs, as we do with every tech revolution, he told CNBCs India affiliate, TV18. Altman added that the impact of AI will be palpable in the coming years.
Some AI leaders have been more forceful than Altman: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs as soon as five years from now. It is true that AI adoption is starting to affect more junior roles, particularly in the spheres of tech and finance. Early-career workers in sectors like software engineering and customer service have, in fact, seen a 13% decline in employment since 2022, and unemployment among recent college graduates is on the rise. And while its more difficult to quantify how AI is changing the nature of work, it is clear that the technology is transforming how people do their jobs, particularly across HR and software engineering.
But Altman argues its not just entry level jobs or engineering roles that might be on the chopping block soon.
Altman went so far as to say that CEOs could eventually lose jobs to AI, tooincluding himselfif superintelligence becomes a reality and AI can perform at a level that outpaces humans.
AI superintelligence at some point on its development curve would be capable of doing a better job being the CEO of a major company than any executivecertainly me, he said. In other words, the CEOs who are currently using AI as a rationale for layoffs might find themselves out of a job for that very reason in the not too distant future.
The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trumps far-reaching global tariffs in a 6-3 decision on Friday, handing him a stinging loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.
Furious about the defeat, Trump said he will impose a global 10% tariff as an alternative while pressing his trade policies by other means. The new tariffs would come under a law that restricts them to 150 days.
He made that announcement after lashing out at the Supreme Court for striking down much of his sweeping tariff infrastructure as an illegal use of emergency power. Trump said he was absolutely ashamed of justices who voted to strike down his tariffs and called the ruling deeply disappointing.
Their decision is incorrect, he said. But it doesnt matter because we have very powerful alternatives.
The Latest:
Reaction from Europe focuses on renewed upheaval, confusion
The initial reaction from Europe focused on renewed upheaval and confusion regarding costs facing businesses exporting to the US.
The European Commission had reached a deal with the Trump administration capping tariffs on European imports at 15%. The deal gave businesses certainty that helped them plan, a factor credited with helping the 21 countries that use the euro currency skirt a recession last year.
Uncertainty remains high for German enterprises doing business in the US, said the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Because there are other instruments for trade limitations in the hands of the US administration that German companies must prepare themselves for.
Trump could resort to laws permitting more targeted tariffs that could hit pharmaceuticals, chemicals and auto parts, said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING bank: Europe should not be mistaken, this ruling will not bring relief. … The legal authority may be different, but the economic impact could be identical or worse.
Brazil celebrates US Supreme Courts decision
Brazil will continue trade negotiations with the United States regardless.
The South American nations leading negotiator on the topic, Vice President and Industry Minister Geraldo Alckmin, told journalists in Brasilia on Friday that the ruling strengthens the trade negotiations between his country and the U.S., but added the two will carry on with their dialogue on the tariffs.
The 10% (tariffs imposed later) are for all. We dont lose competitiveness if it is 10% for all. What was happening was Brazil getting a 40% tariff that no one else had, the Brazilian said. Alckmin added Brazils President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Trump are expected to further discuss trade during a meeting sometime in March.
Michigan business owner says prices will have to be raised
Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, owner of Birmingham, Michigan-based skinnytees, didnt get overly excited after initially hearing about the Supreme Courts ruling.
Hell find some way to get around this, Schlesinger-Wagner said.
Schlesinger-Wagner estimates that the tariffs, so far, have cost her womens apparel business about a $1 million. She says 100% of her garments come from China.
I dont know what Im going to do, she said Friday afternoon. I never raised my prices. Now, with another 10% Im going to be forced to.
The tariffs have affected every business I know because everybody gets something from somewhere, Schlesinger-Wagner added. Were supposed to be global unity. Hes just alienating everyone from us.
Argentinas VP says the Supreme Court decision is a blow to production policies
In Argentina, a key South American ally of the Trump administration, Vice President Victoria Villarruel characterized the U.S. Supreme Courts decision as a blow to production policies and business establishment.
While serving as acting President during Javier Mileis trip to the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington, Villarruel argued on X that the total and unrestricted opening of imports only favors dependence on China.
She warned that such policies would deepen economic and social emergencies.
The Vice President framed the conflict as a choice between Nationalism or Globalism.
Steelmakers groups say key tariff is unaffected by court ruling
Steelmaking industry groups say the Supreme Courts decision on Friday didnt affect tariffs on steel imports put in place under national security provisions.
The tariffs on foreign steel were enforced under a law that grants the president broad authority to address threats to U.S. national security, Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said in a statement.
The Steel Manufacturers Associations president, Philip Bell, said the Supreme Court decision doesnt undo the steel tariff that is revitalizing the American steel industry, strengthened our national security, and fueled the creation of high-quality American jobs.
Mexicos economy secretary on tariffs: I dont know how it will end
Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, speaking at a public event in parallel with Trumps comments, was cautious about the effects of the Supreme Courts decision.
I dont know how it will end, he said, adding: In the case of Mexico, only some of the tariff measures have to do with that legal provision, others do not.
However, he said that Mexicos government still plans to move forward this year depending on the strength of trade between the two countries, and recalled that just a year ago, Mexico was facing a 25% tariff on all its exports, and today, as you can see, most of my exports do not have those burdens.
It remains unclear what Trumps announcement of 10% generalized tariffs will mean for Mexicos economy, but its among the countries that could be hit the hardest as the U.S. and Mexican economies are inextricably intertwined from decades of free trade.
Ebrard and other officials have been locked in negotiations with the Trump administration for months in an effort to offset wider tariffs.
Bessent says he was a little surprised by the decision
I was a little surprised because I was in the Supreme Court hearing, Bessent said when asked about his reaction to the SCOTUS decision at the Economic Club of Dallas, Friday. I think what we saw was just a very narrowing of the definition of the presidents ability to use IEPPA powers.
He added, the look forward no one should expect that tariff revenue will go down.
The total amount of revenue that Treasury will collect this year will be little changed
Bessent says alternative tariff plan will lead to virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Supreme Court did not rule against President Trumps tariffs, rather Six Justices simply ruled that IEEPA authorities cannot be used to raise even one dollar of revenue.
In a prepared speech to the Economic Club of Dallas delivered Friday afternoon, Bessent says the Trump administration will invoke alternative legal authorities to replace the IEEPA tariffs.
Treasurys estimates show that the use of Section 122 authority, combined with potentially enhanced Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs will result in virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026, he says.
Trump wraps up news briefing after more than 40 minutes
The president wrapped on a positive note, saying that with the ruling, great certainty has been brought back to the economy of the United States and actually the economy of the world.
He repeated one of his favorite lines, saying that the U.S. is the hottest country in the world, and added: Were going to keep it that way.
Trump couldnt care less if justices who opposed his tariffs attend State of the Union address
Trump said the justices who voted in the majority against his tariffs are still barely invited to Tuesdays State of the Union address.
But he added that honestly I couldnt care less if they come, OK?
The president gives the State of the Union before a joint session of Congress.
But the chief executive doesnt issue invitations to the speech, aside from his own special guests.
The House speaker actually invites the president to give the address in the first place, and while there is always reserved seating for members of the court, Chief Justice John Roberts has previously said its up to individual justices if they want to attend.
Trump: Gorsuch, Barretts families should be embarrassed
The president is clearly fuming at two of the justices he nominated in his first term who sided against his tariff policy.
I think its an embarrassment to their families, if you want to know the truth. The two of them, Trump said of Gorsuch and Barrett.
He said, their decision was terrible.
Still, he declined to say whether he regretted nominating them.
Trump says his reading prowess is above reproach
I read very well. Great comprehension, Trump said.
The president said that, when it came to the tariffs case, I read everything there is to read. And I said, Cant lose this case.
But the Supreme Court did in fact rule against Trumps sweeping tariff policy an outcome Trump suggested was only possible because judges want to be political, they want to be politically correct.
Italian winemakers remain skeptical despite Supreme Court ruling
Italian winemakers greeted the decision with skepticism, warning that the ruling may ultimately deepen uncertainty rather than deliver immediate relief to transatlantic trade.
The U.S. is Italys largest wine market, with sales having tripled in value over the past 20 years. In 2024, shipments to the U.S. reached a value of 1.93 billion, accounting for 24% of Italys total global wine exports, according to Unione italiana vini, or UIV, which represents more than 800 winemakers.
New tariffs on the EU, which the Trump administration initially threatened would be 200%, had sent fear throughout the industry, which remained even after the U.S. reduced, delayed and negotiated down.
Paradoxically, the wine industry cannot welcome the Courts decision as a clear victory, said Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of the UIV trade association.
There is a more than likely risk that tariffs will be reimposed through alternative legal channels, compounded by the uncertainty this ruling may generate in commercial relations between Europe and the United States.
Trump is offering mixed messages about the importance of the tariffs the court struck down
For months, the president has warned that if these tariffs were struck down, it would be a disaster for the country and it would literally destroy the United States of America.
But as he faced questions about the ruling, Trump repeatedly projected a sunny future for the U.S. and dismissed the idea that the country would face ruin.
He said the ruling gave certainty and said I think youre going to see the country get much stronger because of it.
Trump also said the alternative paths he will pursue to try to impose tariffs, while a much more drawn out process, will get us more money. And I think its going to be great.
Trump dismisses Congress role in tariffs
Despite the rebuke from the Supreme Court, the president is scoffing at the need to get Congress involved in enacting tariff policy.
I dont have to, Trump said when asked why wouldnt he just work with lawmakers on tariffs. I have the right to do tariffs, and Ive always had the right to do tariffs.
The majority ruled that Congress has the power to write tax policy, which includes tariffs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune calls on White House to work with Congress on tariff policies
Tariffs can be an important and effective tool to address unfair trade practices and help level the playing field with foreign competitors, the Senate Republican leader wrote on social media.
The South Dakota Republican added: Senate Republicans will continue working with the administration and our colleagues in the House to advance our shared goal to strengthen rural America, including South Dakotas farm and ranch communities, and the broader U.S. economy.
Trump to impose new tariff, but its temporary
On the heels of his Supreme Court defeat, the president says hell sign an executive order that would impose a 10% global tariff under federal law known as Section 122.
The catch is that those tariffs would be limited to just 150 days, unless they are extended legislatively.
The president also said he is exploring other tariffs through other avenues, such as Section 232, which would require an investigation through the Commerce Department.
Trump says he has great alternatives to tariffs the high court opposed
Trump says other alternatives will now be used to replace his sweeping tariffs that the Supreme Court rejected.
We have alternatives. Great alternatives, Trump aid.
He said the ruling opened the door to allow him to go in probably a direction that I should have gone in the first time.
Trump also suggested the ruling may not substantially constrain tariffs going forward and mentioned using the Trade Expansion Act and other past laws, including the Tariff Act of 1930 going forward.
He said those alternatives would simple mean a little bit longer process.
Trump also scoffed at his ability to order full economic embargoes against countries, but not raise tariffs.
How ridiculous is that? he asked.
Trump calls GOP-appointed justices who supported tariff ruling fools and lapdogs
By name Trump thanked Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh for their strength and wisdom and love of our country in dissenting from the majority to uphold his tariff policies.
And of the more liberal justices who opposed him, Trump said you cant knock their loyalty, even though he disagrees with their views.
But of more conservatives justices who voted to knock down his tariffs Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch Trump said, theyre just being fools and lapdogs for the RINOs and radical left Democrats.
Without naming them, Trump referred to the jurists by their action as very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.
Trump says he will rely on other laws to continue his tariffs
The president cited other sections of federal law that give him clearer power to impose tariffs, though those methods involve a more complex and bureaucratic process to impose the taxes on imports instead of the way Trump was quickly firing them off.
Their decision is incorrect. But it doesnt matter because we have very powerful alternatives, Trump said.
He called it, a little bit longer process, and said his first attempt to impose tariffs was to try to make things simple. But they didnt let us do that.
Which of Trumps tariffs are being struck down by the Supreme Court?
Fridays decision upends a core set of tariffs that Trump imposed using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. That includes the Liberation Day tariffs the president slapped on nearly every country in the world last spring as well as other IEEPA-based levies he imposed on Canada, Mexico and China. Trump also cited IEEPA to impose additional tariffs on Brazil over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, and on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
Despite Fridays ruling, other sweeping levies remain in place. Trump used another law Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to slap sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum, cars, copper, lumber and products like kitchen cabinets worldwide. And the president has plenty of other options to keep taxing imports aggressively.
Republican senators praise Supreme Court decision against Trumps tariff policies, call for Congress to reassert role
As a matter of policy, the empty merits of sweeping trade wars with Americas friends were evident long before todays decision, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement. But as a matter of Constitutional authority, there is now no room for doubt: the use of IEEPA to circumvent Congress in the imposition of tariffs already without precedent is also illegal.
If the executive would like to enact trade policies that impact American producers and consumers, its path forward is crystal clear: convince their representatives under Article 1, said the former Republican Senate leader.
Other senators also chimed in approvingly after the courts decision.
Todays Supreme Court ruling reaffirms that only Congress has the constitutional authority to impose tariffs, and the President can only do so under a clear and limited delegation of authority from Congress, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine wrote on social media.
Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah declared that the Founders system of checks and balances remains strong nearly 250 years later. But Curtis noted that the tariff saga may not be over.
Several questions remain unanswered, including what happens to the revenue already collected and how the administration may use alternative authorities to impose tariffs, said Curtis.
National trade advocacy group applauds the ruling and urges the administration to refund tariff revenues
The National Foreign Trade Council applauded the court ruling and urged the Trump administration to refund tariff revenue and change its approach.
Its a relief to see the Supreme Court unequivocally decide that IEEPA did not provide the authority for the administration to impose more than $133 billion in tariffs on American businesses and consumers, said Jake Colvin, president of the council. We hope the administration will seize this opportunity to recalibrate its approach rather than rushing to replicate some or all of the tariffs through other means.
The council urged the administration to identify a low-burden and automated administrative process to return tariff revenue to U.S. importers quickly and efficiently.
Trump calls ruling deeply disappointing
Trump told a news conference hes absolutely ashamed of justices who voted to strike down his tariffs, calling the decision deeply disappointing.
Its the first major piece of Trumps broad agenda to come squarely before the nations highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.
Trump called the majority decision a disgrace when he was notified during his morning meeting with several governors, according to someone with direct knowledge of the presidents reaction who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Trump was meeting privately with nearly two dozen governors from both parties when the decision was released. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Speaker Johnson says Congress and Trump to find path forward on tariffs in coming weeks
House Speaker Mike Johnson backed Trumps use of tariffs in a post on social media after the Supreme Court ruling, sayingthey had brought in billions of dollars and created immense leverage for Americas trade strategy.
In the Supreme Court ruling, the majority found that its unconstitutional for the president to unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress.
Congress and the Administration will determine the best path forward in the coming weeks, Johnson wrote on X.
Some GOP welcome the decision, but may back Trump on future tariffs
A GOP Congressman who voted for to impeach Trump says the Supreme Court decision rightly takes back power from the executive branch on tariffs.
Washington Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse said in a statement that the ruling restores balance between the legislative and executive branches, adding that hes committed to working with Trump on targeted tariffs to secure trade deals that put American farmers, businesses, and consumers first.
Washington state is home to the headquarters of Costco, one of the companies most critical of the tariffs.
Newhouse is one of the two GOP representatives to vote to impeach President Trump during his first term and be reelected. Earlier this year, he welcomed the Trump administrations move to effectively lower wages for immigrant farmworkers.
Newhouse announced that he is not seeking reelection.
Associated Press
