President Trump has set himself up for a great fall or for more power over the economy than any president has ever possessed.

It all depends on what the Supreme Court decides on Trump’s assertion of authority to impose sweeping tariffs based on his perception of a national emergency. Arguments to the court were presented Wednesday.

Making his case on social media, Trump called the tariff decision “LIFE OR DEATH.” That would certainly constitute an emergency. His lawyer said “our exploding trade deficits had brought us to the brink of a national security catastrophe.”

All presidents have wide-ranging constitutional authority when confronted by a national security emergency, but the claim that the trade deficit is an emergency is undercut by the fact that the trade deficit was a significa

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