Week 37 - The Return
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember.
This week the Epstein files, which have turned into the biggest scandal of Trump’s second regime, continued to be front and center. As I wrote in my Substack article here, up until now, Trump has been extremely successful at throwing shiny coins to distract and change the subject. This scandal marks his first failure to control the narrative.
In the early part of this week, both he and his regime frantically threw shiny coins, including attacking Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, revealing a health issue, and firing U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey. Nothing seemed to work, but then he did get a reprieve by taking on a boogeyman for the MAGA movement, the media, as he sued News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch over a bombshell story published in the Wall Street Journal. Trump also took the remarkable step of accusing former President Barack Obama of “treason” and attempting to orchestrate a “coup” of the 2016 election, again in an effort to change the subject and steer his splintering MAGA base in another direction. Speaker Mike Johnson also took the unusual step of starting summer recess for the House of Representatives a day early to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
As we hit the six month mark of the Trump regime, and Trump attempts to take a victory lap for his actions to date, polling shows the country souring on him and his policies. His overall approval hit a new low, with just 38% approving, 59% disapproving in one poll. His signature legislation is wildly unpopular, with 6 in 10 saying it will help the rich and hurt the poor. An increasing share of Americans think he is focused on the wrong priorities. By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans believe his policies have hurt them versus helped them. Just 17% approve of his handling of the Epstein files.
There are some notable attacks on the media this week, including the aforementioned lawsuit filed by Trump against Murdoch and his companies. After the article’s publication, Trump banned WSJ reporters from the press pool on a trip to Scotland. CBS News, whose parent company Paramount settled a bogus lawsuit with Trump in Week 34, announced the cancellation of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert, a Trump critic, and Trump promised more firings. The Associated Press also lost an appeal to gain full access to Trump.
An AP-NORC poll found that 49% of Americans say Trump’s policies have hurt them, while one-quarter say they have helped, and another quarter say they have not been impacted. Trump’s polling continued to be net negative on every issue.
An analysis by the Post of 165 lawsuits against the Trump regime found Trump and his regime have defied around one in three judges who ruled against him. Plaintiffs say the Justice Department is also providing false information, and failing to turn over evidence.
Health and Human Services Sec. Robert Kennedy, Jr. fired two top aides, Heather Flick Melanson, his chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, his deputy chief of staff for policy, both of whom were viewed as practical and effective government veterans.
Ken Pagurek, the head of FEMA’s urban search and rescue unit resigned, telling colleagues that the Trump regime was causing “chaos” at the agency, which delayed the response to deadly floods in Texas. Pagurek also cited needing approval for expenditures above $100,000.
NYT reported that the Trump regime is planning to refashion Title X, a 55 year-old government program that provides federal funding for birth control to low-income women, and will instead shift funding towards programs to help women get pregnant.
On Wednesday, Trump denied he plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after news in the morning caused markets to trade lower. Trump told reporters, “We’re not planning on doing it,” adding, “I think it’s highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.”
WSJ reported that CEOs of some of the largest banks have spoken out publicly on the importance of the independence of the Fed, including chief executives of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America.
On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Powell was “one of my worst appointments,” and criticized former president Joseph Biden for extending Powell’s term, adding, “And the Fed Board has done nothing to stop this “numbskull” from hurting so many people.”
On Monday, Treasury Department Sec. Scott Bessent called for a review of the Federal Reserve, telling CNBC, “What we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful,” adding, “Has the organization succeeded in its mission?”