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‘They’re pretty much in a funk’: Trump’s agenda hits a summer stall

بقلم rivo_admin · 2 يونيو 2026 · 18 دقيقة قراءة

President Donald Trump’s second term started with the “days of thunder.”","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/14/bannon-second-trump-administration-00198197","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0000","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0001","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>“days of thunder.” Now, he’s battling a different kind of storm.

Even the culture Trump has spent years trying to bend to his will is showing signs of resistance as artists bail on the Freedom 250 festival","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/29/freedom-250-fair-musical-lineup-00942818","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad000c","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad000d","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>as artists bail on the Freedom 250 festival, the triumphalist celebration he envisioned as one of the capstones of his second term.

Trump allies describe a sense of burnout inside the White House driven by a nearly all-encompassing focus on ending the Iran war, which has already lasted twice as long as the president suggested it might. Privately, they wonder whether a staff shakeup would snap the administration out of its malaise.

“The administration is all-consumed by this conflict. They’re pretty much in a funk with it — or fatigue — in that there’s nothing happening,” said one person close to the White House, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “Even if there are wins, no one’s communicating them. There’s just no other play outside of — we are stuck in this quicksand of Iran.”

The White House has spent the last several weeks negotiating an extension of a ceasefire with Iran","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/28/us-iran-ceasefire-violation-00940825","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad000e","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad000f","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>an extension of a ceasefire with Iran that would open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic, easing pressure on global oil prices. But Trump has been unable so far to notch a deal despite promises of how short-lived the conflict would be, on top of social media threats and even renewed bombing. He left a two-hour Situation Room meeting on Friday with nothing to announce","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/29/trump-no-update-iran-deal-00943503","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0010","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0011","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>with nothing to announce.

Trump continues to publicly project that all is going to plan. On Monday, he told NBC News","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-suspends-talks-us-israel-attacks-lebanon-rcna347865","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0012","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0013","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>told NBC News that he was fine with Iran’s decision to suspend talks with the U.S.

“I don’t particularly want to talk either. We talk too much,” he said.

In the meantime, Americans continue to be squeezed by high gas prices. The average price for a gallon declined to $4.32 on Monday, down from $4.50 one week ago, but still up roughly 37 percent from a year ago, according to AAA","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://gasprices.aaa.com/","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0014","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0015","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>according to AAA.

Trump’s negotiations with Congress on many of his top legislative priorities are hardly going better. Despite solidifying his grip on the GOP by helping to oust incumbent Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the Senate majority is no closer to passing the elections-focused SAVE America Act, which Trump said is his top priority. Nor has Congress yet heeded his call to pass bipartisan housing legislation","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/05/19/congress/johnson-trump-white-house-compromise-on-a-housing-deal-00928445","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0016","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ad0017","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>pass bipartisan housing legislation or fund his ballroom project, including an underground bunker he says is necessary for security.

And on Monday, the administration retreated on its","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/01/trump-weaponization-fund-retreat-00944656","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0000","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0001","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>administration retreated on its $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” amid Republican backlash and in the wake of an unfavorable court ruling last week.

Trump’s defenders insist his administration is firing on all cylinders and setbacks are due to a weak Senate majority leader who won’t kill the filibuster or fire the Senate parliamentarian; liberal judges thwarting the will of the people; and ungrateful foreign leaders who refused to help the U.S. ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.

But with his second term nearly half over, the losses are piling up.

“Is this how MAGA ends — with a whimper not a bang?” said Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist, adding that “Texas shows that the President still has all the juice — it needs to be applied starting with Thune’s removal.”

White House aides dismissed the criticism as media-driven noise and pointed to several policy wins Trump has recently achieved, including the addition of generic drugs to the direct-to-consumer TrumpRx site","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2026/05/scotus-rejects-pharma-suits-over-medicare-talks-00926796","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0002","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0003","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>the addition of generic drugs to the direct-to-consumer TrumpRx site, the coming launch of “Trump accounts” for millions of children","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2026/05/dems-see-tax-opportunity-in-new-fund-00942148","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0004","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0005","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>the coming launch of “Trump accounts” for millions of children, the roll-back of Biden EPA rules on refrigeration and air conditioning","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/21/politics/refrigerant-rules-trump-biden-epa","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0006","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0007","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>the roll-back of Biden EPA rules on refrigeration and air conditioning and a summer public safety initiative","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/dc-safe-beautiful-task-force-0","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0008","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae0009","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>a summer public safety initiative ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary.

They noted that much of the president’s legislative agenda is advancing, pointing to conference negotiations on the housing legislation","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://x.com/BrendanPedersen/status/2061536820328808930?s=20","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae000a","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae000b","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>pointing to conference negotiations on the housing legislation, the advancement of the highway bill","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-transportation/2026/06/01/whats-next-for-the-surface-bill-00943879","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae000c","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae000d","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>advancement of the highway bill and a recent bipartisan markup on crypto legislation","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/05/14/congress/senate-advances-crypto-bill-democrats-split-amendments-00920961","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae000e","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae000f","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>bipartisan markup on crypto legislation. And recent political wins — from redistricting to several successful primary challenges, including Cornyn’s — demonstrate Trump’s still-dominant hold over the Republican Party.

That should put to rest, they said, any notion that Iran has limited the administration’s ability to focus on other issues.

“President Trump can walk and chew gum at the same time,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. “It’s a shame that the media would rather push false ‘doom-and-gloom’ narratives than highlight all the administration is doing for families across the country, but President Trump remains focused on delivering on all of his promises for Americans while simultaneously ensuring Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”

A second person close to the White House, granted anonymity to disclose private conversations, said that Iran is in part distracting the administration from messaging its first-year victories.

“You passed a Big Beautiful Bill. Crime is down. The border is secure,” the person said. “They’re not out there selling what they’ve done.”

Instead, allies worry that the administration is spending more time huddling behind closed doors trying to end a war than passing — and selling — the president’s agenda.

“This is the first time that I’m even questioning, maybe he doesn’t have as much political capital as I thought he did, or they’re just not using it right in the right way,” the first person close to the White House said.

The rut comes at a sensitive time for Trump, who has for months been planning for a grandiose celebration in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary on July 4. While his planned UFC fight on the White House South Lawn is proceeding as scheduled later this month, more than a half dozen artists have backed out of performing at the Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Trump, in response, said he would take center stage, a move that even some conservatives questioned.

“I’m actually pretty pissed at how badly they’ve bungled America 250. First they tried to invite Milli Vanilli and a bunch of other absurdly washed-up, geriatric one-hit wonders. Then when that didn’t work they decided to convert the event into a Trump rally where Trump will talk about himself for 90 minutes,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh said in a post on X","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2060809604662210748?s=20","_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae001a","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019e-8815-dc36-a1fe-cdfde3ae001b","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>said in a post on X over the weekend. “This should have been a massive, raucous celebration of the country and its 250 year history. Now it will be a political rally identical to the ten million other ones we’ve already seen.”

The celebration of America’s sesquicentennial could be among the last of the good days for the administration, the second person to the White House said, noting the coming raft of subpoenas if Democrats take control of the House.

“Members of Congress that have never been in the minority don’t know how shitty it is — and staff hasn’t been through this, which none of them have … not in the proctological exam kind of way. You can only defy a subpoena for so long,” the person said. “I think there’s a rude awakening that will come if that happens.”

المصدر: Politico

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