Week 36 - The Return
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember.
This week, Trump continued to consolidate power within his regime, even as public opinion and parts of his MAGA base turned against him on key issues. On Trump’s signature issue, immigration, public opinion has turned sharply against him, with just 35% approving. Notably, the country is experiencing a broad shift in attitudes on immigration, with nearly 8 in 10 Americans now saying it is a good thing (I wrote more about this here). More than 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of Trump’s signature legislation passed in Week 35.
The MAGA base continues to be at odds with Trump, this time over the decision not to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, which have been the subject of a myriad of conspiracy theories. His MAGA base is also upset this week with Trump’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine, and is still seething over his strikes on Iran. For the first time, House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly broke from Trump on releasing the Epstein files, a sign this issue, which has long been flamed by Trump and members of his regime, is not going away, despite Trump going on the offense as the week came to a close and calling critics “PAST supporters.”
All the while, Trump continues to unabashedly consolidate power. Supreme Court rulings issued in the “emergency docket” (aka the shadow docket) continue to grant broad, additional powers to the presidency, without explanation. This week a ruling allowed the regime to conduct mass firings, and continue to dismantle federal agencies, disempowering Congress. Trump also expanded his trade war, and has seized on using tariffs as a tool for his personal agenda, as Congress continues to abdicate their role. Trump continues to bully, threaten, and cow members of Congress into submission on his agenda. He and his regime are starting to take some small, yet alarming steps, on the 2026 midterms.
The regime’s tepid response in Texas was further evidence that efforts to dismantle federal agencies have started to have real world effects on the well being of the American people. As with reports on the limited success of his Iran strikes, which are now squarely in the rearview mirror amid the weekly chaos, Trump deployed a strategy of shaming reporters and the media for asking about missteps in the handling of severe storms, as a way to obfuscate from a real discussion of the issue at hand.
A Gallup poll found a broad shift on Americans’ attitudes on immigration: 79% consider immigration to be a good thing, and just 30% said immigration should be decreased, down by nearly half from 55% in 2024.
Just 35% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, with 62% disapproving, split along party lines; notably, 69% of Independents disapprove.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would impose a 50% tariff on Brazil, a jump from the 10% tariff imposed in April, in part as retaliation for the nation’s prosecution of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, calling it an “international disgrace” and “witch hunt.”
In a social media post, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, “Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being lectured by anyone,” adding that the country would impose reciprocal tariffs.
NYT reported that legal experts questioned whether Trump had the authority to issue tariffs in pursuit of purely political objectives. Trump had incorrectly claimed that the U.S. has a trade deficit with Brazil.