"President Donald Trump's administration has been embroiled in scandal and sloppiness. His own party has defied his political pressure. His senior staff has been beset by infighting. He has sparred with reporters and offered over-the-top praise to an authoritarian with a dire human-rights record. A signature hard-line immigration policy has polled poorly. And Republicans have begun to brace themselves for a disastrous midterm election."
"Ten months into the president's second term, Trump 2.0 is for the first time starting to resemble the chaotic original. And that new sense of political weakness in the president has not just emboldened Democrats who have been despondent for much of the past year. It's also begun to give Republicans a permission structure for pushing back against Trump and jockeying for power with an eye to the elections ahead."
Scandal and sloppiness have marked the administration, with party members defying presidential pressure, senior staff mired in infighting, clashes with reporters, and praise for an authoritarian with a poor human-rights record. A hard-line immigration policy has polled poorly and Republicans prepared for a disastrous midterm election in 2017; similar dynamics have reappeared in 2025. Ten months into the second term, the presidency increasingly resembles the chaotic first term, creating political weakness that emboldens Democrats and gives Republicans permission to push back and jockey for power ahead of upcoming elections. Recent elections signaled voter pushback over overreach and unmet economic promises.
Read at The Atlantic
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]