Trump's 'culmination of blunders' could 'permanently hobble his presidency': report

A series of setbacks for Donald Trump over the past two weeks could be a harbinger of the reality that Donald Trump may have reached the last moments of his second term presidential "honeymoon," reports Eli Stokols and Jake Traylor of Politico.

Still dealing with the Signal war-planning chat fiasco that will now be investigated by the Pentagon's inspector general, reeling from GOP election losses in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and now facing a Republican Party revolt over his "Liberation Day" announcement of a wave of tariffs that has the stock market in a panic, Trump now faces an uncertain future for his "maximalist" approach in his second term.

As the Politico report notes, the president is now facing the consequences of a "culmination of blunders" as key GOP lawmakers, previously afraid of getting on Trump's bad side, are making plans to rein him in.

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Writing that the recent events have "upended the notion that his second term was more professional and less prone to leaks," the report states, "while he and top aides are suddenly calling for patience and an acceptance of some economic pain in the near term, this is the same politician who, running against former President Joe Biden on the campaign trail just last year, labeled high inflation as a presidency 'killer.'"

According to former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), "He ran to lower prices and be a good steward of the economy. After less than three months, people are talking about a recession. People are anxious and many are angry."

The tariff blunder, which has caused worldwide economic anxiety, has become the last data point that has driven Trump approval numbers to the lowest point since his re-election -- and that could hobble his agenda.

"Trump’s tariff policy, which has stupefied allies and countless economists, could permanently hobble his presidency and complicate GOP plans to advance a sweeping agenda," the Politico report asserted before adding, "Sharp tariff criticism comes as the White House has unsuccessfully attempted to squash fallout from the Signal group chat controversy – an issue that’s led to a slow drip of damning follow-up reports. The administration’s refusal to take ownership and course correct sensitive communications going forward has allowed the controversy to linger."

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