President Donald Trump has made a name for himself by taking radical decisions on tariffs. He had previously imposed high tariffs on countries that did not have strong relations with the U.S. and continues to threaten with high tariffs every now and then as a mode of revenge when things do not go his way.
In an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow that aired on Tuesday, Trump bragged about his tariff policies while targeting Switzerland, claiming he did not like the way the country’s leader spoke to him. He claimed that Switzerland had apparently been paying no tariff and exporting goods to the U.S. “like nobody could believe.”
He then added, “So I put on a 30 percent tariff which is very low. Still we were having a big deficit, but it was half the deficit.” He then mentioned that he got a call from the “prime minister of Switzerland,” who seemed “nice, but very aggressive.”
Interestingly, Switzerland does not have a prime minister, but is instead led by a president. Trump was probably referring to Karin Keller-Sutter, who served as the President through December last year.
Trump: “So I put on a 30% tariff, which is very low. I got an emergency call from I believe the prime minister of Switzerland. She was very aggressive … I didn’t really like the way she talked to us, so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39%.” pic.twitter.com/covIESz4u2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2026
Trump continued talking about her, saying he could not manage to get her off the phone as she pushed on the tariffs. He said, “So it was at 30 percent, and I didn’t really like the way she talked to us, and so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39 percent. And then I got inundated by people from Switzerland and I figured, you know what, we’ll do something that’s a little bit more palatable.” By using the word “palatable,” Trump most likely referred to the 15% dip that happened at the end of last year.
Trump seems to have a problem with Switzerland’s president as he had ranted about her last month in Davos when he attended the World Economic Forum. He had referred to her as the “prime minister” who was a “woman” and “very repetitive.” Trump then added, “She just rubbed me the wrong way, I’ll be honest with you.”
While Trump bragged about his tariff policies for the European nations, America is awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict on the economic policies of the country. The Conservative judges did not appear to be much impressed by Trump’s way of handling tariffs despite his claims that it was his tariff policies that helped him stop six of the total eight wars that he claims to have stopped.
Trump in Davos, Switzerland:
“Without us, right now you’d all be speaking German”.
German is the main language of Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/gp7nAQXwi4
— Adam Schwarz (@AdamJSchwarz) January 21, 2026
The Supreme Court’s decision would be out any day now and that would hugely impact not only the way Trump is shaping the U.S. economy but also will affect his Presidential powers.
Talking about the same, Trump said in the Fox News interview, “I just hope the Supreme Court does what’s right for the country. Now, will I figure something out? The answer is yes. But it will be much – It won’t be as beautiful as it is right now.”
As Trump hopes for the Supreme Court’s decision to go in his favor, it now remains to be seen how the verdict brings changes in the current tariffs and how it affects his presidency.
