President Donald Trump, known for craving total control and adulation, is at a loss now that powerful people he once thought were his pawns have turned against him, argued former GOP lawmaker Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
In a new article, Kinzinger wrote, "Trump is surrounded by people he once thought he controlled. And now that they’re acting with independence, he doesn’t know what to do."
"The prime example," according to Kinzinger, "is his fraying relationship with Elon Musk—the world’s richest man and, until recently, Trump’s 'First Buddy.'” Musk publicly turned on Trump's "one big beautiful bill" after being told he no longer had unfettered access to the White House.
But, Musk is just the tip of the iceberg of "disloyals," Kinzinger wrote.
"Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett—his own nominee—has committed the cardinal sin of thinking for herself," by siding with liberal justices in several key decisions, Kinzinger said.
"Then there’s Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair Trump himself picked—now branded 'a FOOL' and 'a major loser.' Why? Because Powell won’t slash interest rates to juice the economy."
"And overseas, Trump’s strongest man-crush—Vladimir Putin—is refusing to play along," Kinzinger wrote, adding, "No, Donald—Putin hasn’t changed. He’s just not taking orders."
Kinzinger claimed that far from being a strongman or a real leader, Trump is just "a man throwing a tantrum because the world won’t revolve around him. And in each case, these individuals—whether misguided or not—are proving one thing: they have agency. Trump, meanwhile, just has rage."
Kinzinger concluded that what Trump "wants—what he’s always wanted—is loyalty, submission, and applause." When that doesn't happen, he calls them names like "loser," "weak," and "crazy."