Week 28 - The Return
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember.
This week has the fewest broken norms since Trump’s inaugural. As in the prior four weeks, Trump finds himself struggling for wins on his main issues — the economy, immigration and foreign policy — and in many ways, his presidency is floundering and in retreat (I wrote more here). Reminiscent of the first regime, when Trump was failing he would strike out to release anger and change the subject, this week Trump aired petty grievances against several celebrities, and made unwarranted accusations about some.
Likewise, his regime undertook a series of actions this week that appear aimed at petty retribution, with most likely to be challenged in court and be halted. The regime too is struggling to find victories or achieve major goals. This week real questions come into play about the effectiveness of leadership and abilities of federal agencies. Airports experienced more blackouts. Severe storms rocked the country, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service are in a state of disrepair after DOGE cuts (I wrote more here).
As we hit the midpoint of Trump’s 90-day pause for holding back on tariffs, Trump has little to show for his negotiating skills, just a “framework” with the U.K. and a longer pause with China. Trump lashed out at corporations and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. House Republicans stumbled with passing his “big, beautiful bill,” as Moody’s lowered its credit rating on U.S. debt with talk of this bill raising the deficit by trillions. The regime also lost two major court battles this week.
NYT reported Michael Collins, who was fired in Week 27 as acting chair of the National Intelligence Council, was instructed by DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s chief of staff to redo an intelligence assessment that found Tren de Aragua was not acting on behalf of the Venezuelan government.
Collins was asked in an email to “rethink” the earlier analysis, days after the Times reported his assessment contradicted Trump’s rationale for invoking the Aliens Enemies Act; after reassessing, the council reaffirmed its original findings.
CBS News President Wendy McMahon resigned amid conflict with parent Paramount over its handling of the Trump lawsuit. McMahon, an ally of “60 Minutes” former producer Bill Owens, said in a memo, “it’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”
Both McMahon and Owens had said they adamantly opposed a settlement with Trump. Both had also said they would not apologize to Trump as part of any settlement.
WAPO reported the Trump regime was preparing to pay the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed while storming the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection, a $5 million settlement of their $30 million lawsuit, marking a shift in the Justice Department’s position.
Reuters reported that Trump’s planned birthday military parade will include as many as 25 Abrams tanks rolling through Washington D.C., at a cost of $25 million to $45 million.
CNN reported that Trump first approached Qatar to inquire about purchasing the gifted Boeing 747. Trump had wanted to replace the existing Air Force One more quickly than Boeing could deliver. Boeing provided a list of other clients around the world.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported Trump put his plans to create a U.S. sovereign wealth fund on the back burner, after three months of regime research determined the fund would not be able to give the broad investments flexibility Trump was seeking.
On Friday, a University of Michigan survey of consumer confidence dropped to 50.8, the fifth consecutive drop, and the second lowest reading on record. Tariffs were mentioned by three-quarters of consumers, up from 60% in April. Inflation expectations rose to 7.3%.
On Friday, Moody’s lowered the U.S. credit score to Aa1 from Aaa, joining the other two credit agencies. Moody’s cited the increase in government debt, as House Republicans pushed forward on the massive tax-and-spending bill that would add trillions to the federal debt.