Published On 6/5/2026
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Last update: 20:52 (Mecca time)
As US President Donald Trump entered his eightieth year surrounded by displays of power and political display, the institutions of government in the United States began to send increasing signals that the president, who over the past months seemed to transcend all restrictions, no longer enjoyed the same political immunity.
From Congress to the judiciary, and from opinion polls to the circles of his Republican Party, indicators are accumulating that a new phase has begun, the title of which is testing the limits of President Trump’s influence and his ability to impose his agenda at home and abroad.
The limits of Trump’s power
In a report by its correspondent in Washington, James Politi, the British newspaper, the Financial Times, documented a series of political setbacks that Trump suffered within one week, considering that they represent a blow to the image of the “invincible president” that has surrounded him since his return to the White House on January 20, 2025.
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According to the report, Trump faced simultaneous defeats on more than one front. A judge ordered his name removed from the Kennedy Cultural Center in Washington, while the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to restrict the continuation of military operations against Iran without authorization from Congress, and the Senate also refused to fund the huge ballroom project that Trump was seeking to build in the White House.
The strikes did not stop there, as the president was forced to abandon a project fund worth $1.8 billion to compensate those who consider themselves victims of “politicization of justice,” after the project was widely criticized as a fund designated to reward his allies and supporters.
Trump’s policies lead to fueling inflation, and he is not widely popular, and Americans do not like this situation, and the whole world does not welcome his policies, and even a small number of Republicans no longer like them either.
Declining popularity
The newspaper quoted Matt Dalek, a historian and professor of political management at George Washington University, as saying, “Trump’s policies lead to fueling inflation, and he is not widely popular, and Americans do not like this situation.”
He added, “The whole world does not welcome his policies, and even a small number of Republicans no longer like them either,” expressing his belief that “this combination has established a new era of restrictions on Trump,” referring to the return of American institutions to playing a more effective role in curbing executive power.
A silent republican rebellion
These “setbacks” coincide with a noticeable decline in the levels of support for the US President in opinion polls, which showed the street’s loss of confidence in his management of the economic and foreign political files.
Although Trump still maintains his grip on the Republican base, recent months have revealed cracks within the party.
In this regard, the report indicated that candidates from the pro-MAGA movement succeeded in excluding a number of prominent Republican representatives in the party’s primary elections.
Congress midterms
But the newspaper says that expectations indicate the possibility of the Republican Party losing the majority in the House of Representatives during the midterm congressional elections next November, and that their control of the Senate is in danger as a result of Trump’s support for candidates described as extremists.
This partisan rebellion was clearly demonstrated in the House of Representatives’ vote to restrict military operations against Iran without Congress’ permission, a symbolic vote in which 4 Republican representatives participated.
In this context, Republican Representative Tom Barrett expressed this position on the X platform, saying: “It is time for Congress to determine the appropriate limits for the use of force in Iran.”
On the other hand, Trump sharply attacked this decision on his platform (Truth Social), describing the move as an “unpatriotic act.”
According to the Financial Times, the differences were not limited to the military file, but rather extended to include political appointments. Following the appointment of Bill Bolte – the federal official responsible for the housing sector – as interim director of national intelligence despite his lack of experience in this field, which sparked widespread dissatisfaction that forced Trump to partially back down and confirm that the position is temporary and will not be permanent.
Shane O’Grady: Trump lives in an “imaginary world” in which he believes he has solved all the world’s crises and achieved the greatest economy in history.
Trump is not a king
On the other hand, the newspaper reported in its report a statement by Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University, in which he said that Trump differs from most traditional politicians because he is “willing to risk constitutional stability and does not feel the weight of political embarrassment as others do.”
But at the same time, he indicated that the rebellion within the Republican Party may be fleeting, adding that it is possible that Republican lawmakers will re-align behind the president if the party’s interests require it.
As for Dalek, he was more severe when he said: “A year ago, many believed that Trump was exceeding all restrictions and ignoring all tools to control his authority, but these controls began to gradually re-impose themselves.” He added in a remarkable tone: “Trump is neither a god nor a king, even if he loves playing this role.”
Struggle with reality
In an opinion column published by The Independent newspaper, writer Shane O’Grady presented a harsher reading of the American president as his eightieth birthday approaches, considering that recent days have revealed a growing disconnect between Trump and reality.
The writer mocked a series of statements and ideas put forward by the president recently, including his desire to turn the events of the Mixed Martial Arts Championship, known as UFC, into a permanent part of the scene in Washington, and his talk about the sizes of bodies of water and memorials, in addition to his repeated announcement of the imminent end of conflicts and wars that have not actually ended.
O’Grady believes that Trump lives in an “imagined world” in which he believes that he has solved all the world’s crises and achieved the greatest economy in history, noting the decline in his public appearance during the recent period and the reduction of his public activities and press conferences.
The writer quoted Andrew Bates, former White House spokesman under President Joe Biden, as saying that Trump’s increasing absence from view represents a real crisis for Republican candidates, because voters have begun to see more clearly that he is preoccupied with his personal projects and private conflicts.
Andrew Bates, former White House spokesman under President Joe Biden, confirms that Trump’s increasing absence from view represents a real crisis for Republican candidates.
He added, “Trump’s invisibility is evident in his increasing inability to pretend to care about anything other than making money from taxpayers and building monuments to himself. When he appears, he says he does not think about Americans’ finances one bit, while behind the scenes he continues to write angry posts.”
Analysts believe that these “setbacks” do not mean that Donald Trump has lost his grip on the American political scene, but that for the first time since his return to the White House, he is facing clear indications that his authority is no longer as absolute as it seemed in the past months.
As his popularity declines and objections mount within state institutions and even within his Republican Party, the question becomes more urgent in Washington: Do these developments represent merely passing missteps for a president who is accustomed to overcoming crises, or are they the beginning of a new phase in which American institutions regain their ability to curb the influence of a man who has long dominated the global political arena?
