Trump just announced a new 15% tax — Newsom claims this is proof that Trump doesn’t care about you
Gavin Newsom didn’t bother with nuance.
“Donald Trump just announced a NEW 15% TAX on the American people,” the California governor wrote Saturday, adding, “He does not care about you.” Within minutes, the post became less about tariffs and more about a familiar online cage match: is this a “tax,” a trade weapon, or a panic pivot after the Supreme Court shut down Trump’s original tariff plan?
Newsom’s swipe landed in the immediate aftermath of a 6–3 Supreme Court ruling that said Trump could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose his earlier broad tariff program. The Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, forcing the White House to scramble for a different legal lane.
Trump’s answer: Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a rarely used authority that allows a temporary import surcharge up to 15% for 150 days, unless Congress extends it. On Friday, Trump announced a 10% worldwide tariff under that authority. On Saturday, he said he’s raising it to 15%, the statutory ceiling.
That’s the core of the “tax” argument: tariffs are collected at the border from importers, but they can show up downstream in price tags depending on the product and supply chain. Trump’s defenders insist the tariff is leverage meant to pressure other countries and protect U.S. manufacturing. Critics argue the practical impact still hits Americans who buy imported goods — which is why Newsom is framing it as a “15% tax.”
And the replies to Newsom’s post quickly showed how people are choosing sides.
One commenter mocked Newsom’s credibility on taxes, pointing to California and sneering that the “dude with the highest state taxes” is suddenly worried about tax burdens. Another jabbed that California’s taxes are “so high there’s a wait list for a U-Haul to move out.” Meanwhile, a pro-tariff reply argued tariffs help U.S. companies by making domestic products more competitive — and even praised tariffs as “much needed revenue,” in a line that basically proves why opponents call tariffs a tax in the first place.
Underneath the insults is a real question that hasn’t gone away: how long can a 15% global tariff actually last? Section 122 is designed to be temporary, and the 150-day clock puts Congress and the markets on notice that this could either expand into a longer trade fight under different laws — or hit a wall.
For Newsom, the political upside is obvious: he’s tying “15%” to “tax” in a way that’s easy to understand and hard to shake in a headline. For Trump, the message is also simple: the Supreme Court may have closed one door, but he’s betting he can keep tariffs alive through other authorities — long enough to force deals, rack up leverage, or dare Congress to stop him.
Either way, the tariff war didn’t end with the court ruling. It just moved to the replies.
