This Is Donald Trump's "Favorite Word". Hint: It's "Making America Rich"

US President Donald Trump has defended his much-criticised trade policy, saying 'tariff' is his favourite word in the English dictionary and credited it for making America 'rich'. He argued that many other nations had been taking advantage of the US for years, but his tariffs on trading partners have restored fairness in trade.

"I love tariffs. Most beautiful word, but I'm not allowed to say that anymore. Tariff is my favourite word. I love the word tariff. We're becoming rich as hell. We have a big case in front of the Supreme Court, but I can't imagine it because this is what other nations have done to us," the US President said while speaking at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico. 

If this isn't in our ads, fire your consultants

Trump: Merit. That's the most important word, other than the word tariff. I love tariffs. Most beautiful word. Tariff is my favorite word. I love the word tariff. pic.twitter.com/no3jGLwqrb

— Rachel Bitecofer 🗽🦆 (@RachelBitecofer) September 30, 2025

Trump claimed that the United States was making "trillions of dollars" under his tariff policy -- money "enough to buy a lot of battleships".

"We've taken in trillions of dollars. We're rich again. When we finish this out, there'll never be any wealth like what we have. Other countries were taking advantage of us for years and years... Now we're treating them fairly. But the money coming in is something we've never seen. The other day, they had $31 billion that they found... $31 billion. That's enough to buy a lot of battleships," he said.

Trump's remarks came before the US Supreme Court's scheduled hearing of cases brought by businesses challenging his use of emergency powers to impose tariffs in the first week of November.

The November hearing follows the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision last month to uphold a lower court ruling that found the president's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose global levies to be illegal.

Even before hearing, US trade representative Jamieson Greer has reportedly warned that Team Trump will continue to hit its trading partners with tariffs even if some levies are ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. 

According to a Financial Times report, Greer asserted that the Trump administration is expected to win the case but would fall back on alternative legal measures to apply tariffs if it did not. 

"We are very confident in the case...We believe that the court will defer to the president on the emergency, the fact that tariffs can be used under this law," he said. 

But the US official also insisted that tariffs would remain "a part of the policy landscape" and said the so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed in August represented "how it's going to be".

"That's how we need to think about trade going forward, win or lose at the Supreme Court, wherever we end up. This is a structure," he added.