President Donald Trump is increasingly threatened by a self-made problem.
His determination to impose unrestrained personal power — which crushed resistance in his first year back in the White House — is now stirring backlashes that are deepening a moment of political vulnerability.
This trend will play out in a week in which his second term is in danger of stalling on multiple fronts.
Trump’s most grave challenge is in finding a way out of the Iran war that strengthens the US and weakens Iran after a relentless American and Israel bombardment failed to crush Tehran’s regime.
Back home, one of Trump’s most controversial moves — a $1.776 billion fund that could compensate supporters convicted of taking part in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot — is imploding amid a Senate GOP rebellion fueled by anger over the president’s imperious instincts.
The furor over the nation’s 250th anniversary is meanwhile intensifying. Trump is furious as artists boycott a Great American State Fair concert series, complaining that it’s been politicized. In response, he’s now planning to open it himself after slamming “boring” singers and calling for a MAGA rally. This remedy seems likely to deepen the partisan turmoil over what was meant to be a unifying national moment.
Trump’s drive for dominance took an earlier blow on Friday when a judge ruled that the addition of his name to the Kennedy Center was illegal. The president reacted by saying he’d ditch his planned renovation of the performing arts institution entirely.
Clearly, Trump’s efforts to find an Iran exit ramp represent a critical national security question. Other uproars might seem trivial by comparison. But these are issues on which he’s chosen to invest his power and political capital. So it’s no surprise they are raising questions about his priorities at a time when his approval ratings are matching his historic lows.
This debate will only be fueled by a huge UFC arena being built on the South Lawn of the White House, next to the site of the demolished East Wing, for an event that falls on the president’s 80th birthday on June 14.
None of this is welcome news for congressional Republicans who are hampered by a president who seems unwilling to accept — ahead of challenging midterm elections — that most voters are not buying his vision of an economic golden age.
Administration pushes back on politicization claims
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum hit back Sunday at criticism that the president was politicizing the 250th anniversary of independence commemorations.
He argued on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was “important” that Trump, as president, be a key figure during the celebrations. Burgum sidestepped, however, on one aspect of the anniversary controversy, failing to call for the president’s Freedom 250 organization to declare its corporate donors. There are widespread concerns over potential ethics violations involving an administration that is in a position to adjudicate key concerns of big businesses that may be funding Trump’s favorite events.
The secretary also argued the real scandal was that previous administrations had let fountains and memorials in the capital fall into disrepair and that Trump was performing a service by renovating them. “The things that he touches, he makes better,” Burgum said, referring especially to an area outside Union Station that was known for homeless encampments and graffiti but that has been overhauled by the administration.
It’s inarguable that Trump’s beautification projects will be an improvement in parts of Washington.
But some, like the vast ballroom he’s building in place of the East Wing, may involve an overreach of presidential power. Others, like the eponymous renaming of the US Institute for Peace and a plan for a vast arch near the Potomac River, look more like vanity plays — as does a Treasury plan to print a $250 bill bearing Trump’s likeness.
The dichotomy between a president constructing a legacy in concrete and Americans struggling to pay for food and rent offers an opening to Democrats — even as the opposition party seeks to shake off its own deep unpopularity and still seems to be struggling to understand why it alienated millions of voters in 2024.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker demonstrated on Sunday that the party will try to knit what critics see as the president’s personal corruption, self-aggrandizement and obliviousness to Americans’ economic pain into a midterm narrative.
He told ABC’s “This Week” that Trump was trying to set up a “$1.776 billion slush fund” and that the president wanted to “put his name on our money, on our passports, on our park passes. And when the courts stop him, he acts like a petulant child.”
Driving home the contrast, Booker said of his constituents: “I have families who say, ‘I can’t afford gas for my car and childcare for my children.’”
Can Trump find a way out of Iran?
A week ago, there were expectations of an imminent peace deal with Iran, partly fueled by Trump’s optimistic commentary. But no deal is yet agreed, which speaks to the unappetizing choices facing the president. Some of those were caused by his launching of a war with no clear exit strategy or realistic concept of victory.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak reported Sunday that Trump had sent back a proposed draft of a deal after making changes. Officials said he insisted on tougher language surrounding the US desire to see Iran renounce nuclear weapons and its pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He’s also concerned about financial relief that might be provided to Tehran as a carrot.
Trump is under extreme domestic and international pressure to end the war, which a majority of Americans oppose. But his trust in his own instincts in starting the war seemed to ignore the counsel of many experts. Iran’s closure of the strait created a global energy crisis and created leverage for Tehran that it didn’t have before the conflict.
Sen. Chris Coons said on “Fox News Sunday” that if Trump is able to “secure a permanent bar on any nuclear enrichment by Iran, and we get visibility and control into their nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz with no control by Iran ever … that’s a positive step forward.” But the Delaware Democrat added: “I don’t expect him to be able to achieve that.”
“Frankly, Iran is stronger than they were 90 days ago, before this war, because they’ve used their cheap and lethal drones not just to close the Strait of Hormuz, but to attack our partners and allies in the region, harming oil and gas infrastructure, hitting our embassies and bases.”
Given the stakes, Trump may be wise in taking more time to test Iran’s willingness to negotiate. He’s boxed in, however, because the alternative to peace talks — an escalation of the war — seems unlikely to be decisive given Iran’s resilience under attack.
Still, Iran’s continued engagement suggests that it too wants a more permanent end to hostilities than the current ceasefire, and to see the lifting of the US naval blockade that is further debilitating its hollowed-out economy.
Politically, the GOP needs a breakthrough. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House Economic Council, admitted frustration over high gas prices. But he said on ABC that “hopefully” the problem will be over soon and “things will go back to normal.”
A GOP revolt
The war is only one political factor hanging over Republicans in what may be a grim pre-midterms summer. Parts of the party are in revolt — and Trump’s divisive style is to blame.
The $1.176 billion “anti-weaponization fund,” for example, exemplifies the often-impossible straddle required of vulnerable GOP lawmakers. They must appease a base that delights in such schemes but also appeal to general election voters who polls show disdain the president. Republican anger in the Senate over the fund — which arose out of a Trump settlement with his own Justice Department over a $10 billion lawsuit stemming from his leaked tax returns — derailed a bid to pass an immigration enforcement bill, a key administration priority, before the Memorial Day recess.
Once again, Trump’s pursuit of his personal goals and grievances seems counterproductive. His successful efforts to defeat in primary races two senators he deemed insufficiently loyal — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas — threaten to weaken the GOP majority. Another GOP senator, retiring Thom Tillis of North Carolina, has also become an impediment to Trump.
The growing Senate imbroglio is part of the broader trend emerging in Trump’s handling of the Iran war and the 250th anniversary celebrations.
Trump’s intense focus on wielding unfettered power worked in the short term, but ultimately may have the unwanted effect of loosening his sway over his party, his country and the world.