President Donald Trump faces an awkward reunion with Supreme Court justices at Tuesday's State of the Union address, following his scathing criticism of their unanimous ruling against his tariff policies. The 6-3 decision found Trump exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs under emergency powers, prompting the president to denounce the justices as 'fools and lapdogs' for ruling against him.

Trump's relationship with the court has been particularly strained with the three conservative justices who joined the majority: Chief Justice John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Gorsuch and Barrett, both Trump appointees, received especially harsh criticism from the president, who claimed they were 'an embarrassment to their families' and suggested the court had been 'swayed by foreign interests.' The president has praised only the three justices who ruled in his favor, particularly Brett Kavanaugh.

This year's address comes amid a history of tense State of the Union interactions between presidents and justices. Roberts has questioned the tradition's value, calling it 'very troubling' when the court must sit expressionless while Congress cheers around them. The spectacle has led several justices, including Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia, to skip the event entirely. With Trump's recent attacks on the judiciary, Tuesday's address could test the boundaries of institutional decorum as the president and the justices who checked his power share the same room.