CNN
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The rapid rise of Rep. Elise Stefanik was a barometer of the power of Trumpism.
But a sudden interruption of her rise has revealed warning signs for the White House, throttling a tough week when the inevitable reverberation of President Donald Trump’s political shock therapy began to threaten his agenda.
Trump retracted Stefanik’s appointment to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday, raising concerns about a special election for her seat, considering a small Republican majority already in the House.
For New York Republicans, robbing the platform they could use to speak for Trump’s “America-first” policy and building their own profile ahead of a higher office slope in the coming years was a major blow. It was also her loyalty to the President and a poor reward for her journey from mainstream republicanism. Trump has promised that Stefanik will be reverted to House GOP leadership after giving up on her third place, suggesting that she may mail out a future administration.
However, Stefanik’s set-up was rarely recognized by the president. And his reversal against Stefanik is a sign of political vulnerability for just two months in his already rough second term.
Democrats may be flaring up in response to their return to Trump’s Shock and Way Oval office. And the GOP is still solidly solid behind the president who makes threats to enforce party loyalty. However, he is not immune to political gravity. And he endured a week of nightmares where several potentially damaging political crises were directly attributed to his approach and strategy.
The White House is still trying to quell the controversy over the details of the secrets of Yemen’s pending military strikes posted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegses in a group chat that incorrectly includes journalists. The episode shared the disruptive tendencies of his boss, highlighting the risk of choosing a high-ranking official who looks like amateurs and who doesn’t have experience but is well visible on television.
See text messages from Trump administration group chat discussing Yemen’s strike
There are also indications that the federal government’s Elon Musk purge is beginning to cause disruption, threatening critical services and causing political backlash. The Social Security Administration was supported by another reform measure as staff imposed by government efficiency caused long waits in agency offices, scaring benefits recipients.
Another signing Trump initiative – his vow to quickly end the war in Ukraine – has also been established. The White House claimed it had established a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea after talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday. However, the contract came along with Russia’s demands for lifting banks and agricultural sanctions Europe wanted to maintain. Even Trump, who boldly predicts that friendship with President Vladimir Putin will bring peace, has admitted that Russians may be “limping.”
The economy is also at risk. New data this week showed consumer confidence at the lowest level since January 2021. Americans are hoping for higher inflation this year, and the growing number believes the recession is coming, according to a survey by the latest conference committee.
The darkness could reflect the impact of the unstable implementation of tariff policies, where the president is likely to raise prices, and that Trump himself has not focused on the costs of food and housing, which helped him win the election.
Economic analysts predicted Thursday that new tariffs imposed on automobile imports, including Canada and Mexico, where the US automotive industry is deeply integrated, could increase the costs of new vehicles by thousands of dollars. Their warning captured the risks Trump had to the economy. His policies bring even more pain to cash-bound consumers in the short term in exchange for an ideal view of a new “golden age” based on the manufacturing renaissance at unspecified times in the future.
“We’re going to charge the country to do business in our country, take on jobs, take away wealth and take away a lot of what they’ve adopted over the years,” Trump said in his oval office Wednesday. “They have taken so many from our nation, from our friends, from our enemies, and to be frank, friends often do much worse than our enemies.”
The president will take further risks next week with consumer trust by pledging inverse dollar tariffs on foreign countries that impose duties on US goods. As many experts expect, if this raises prices, all eyes are about whether Trump is willing to stay on the political course.
All this explains the unpredictable political dynamics that Trump persuaded not to risk a special election at Stephanik’s seat in upstate New York.
The decision appears to have been shaped by growing concern among Florida Republicans, prompting Trump and the GOP leadership to intervene in special elections in the House of Representatives in the deep red district, CNN reported.
GOP candidate and state Sen. Randy Fein is still upside down to win Tuesday, but a closer than expected race will be a huge morale boost for Democrats ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Ironically, the election is replacing former lawmaker Mike Waltz. He left as national security adviser and caused the biggest scandal ever in Trump’s new term by adding Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat that group-chats strikes against Yemen’s Hauch Rebels.
The Waltz won a 33-point seat in November, but the Democratic candidate was fined, and Josh Weil launched an aggressive campaign focusing on mask attacks on the federal government and risks to Medicaid and Social Security.
Concerns about the special election remind us of Congress’s tiny GOP majority, one of the most political factors to shape Trump’s second term legacy. This will rigorously test House Speaker Mike Johnson’s legislative skills and the unity of Republican coalition as Trump seeks to push for complex bills that include offering large tax cuts throughout Congress this year.
While confronting several political outcomes of Trump’s own policies and political style, the White House remains relentlessly bright, portraying the past two months as the most successful start to the presidency.
This week, Hyundai announced its US investment of $20 billion. This includes nearly $6 billion to build a new steel plant in Louisiana. On Thursday, Trump announced the arrest of a 24-year-old man, whom the Justice Department described as the “primary leader” of the MS-13 gang.
The White House accused the focus of Yemen’s group chat scandal and ignored what it says is a huge success in our strike against the Hooty militants who have been disrupting commercial transport in the Red Sea for months.
The different narrative of Trump’s presidency reflects the sharp division of the country, only strengthened by the beginning of the whiplash until his second term. In many ways, the president celebrates the promise he made on the campaign trail in an extraordinary clip. The undocumented video of the deportation of undocumented immigrants and alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador is a key indicator of success for many Trump voters, even if they terrorize human rights advocates. The president’s defense against US workers with tariffs is a direct response to the pain his voters have felt. And his attacks on elites meet the wishes of many MAGA voters for takedowns of Washington facilities, from top universities to top law firms – executive action.
In an unresolved moment this week, Hegses claimed that he “knows exactly what I’m doing” in accusing the Yemeni text thread scandal. Since reopening his office, Trump has implicitly told the country the same thing.
But a turbulent week is when many Americans ask whether his resolve to fulfill his promise will lead him down a dangerous path.
