President Trump has in recent weeks responded to political allies offering strategic advice with the same retort: “I’m the president and you’re not,” according to people familiar with the conversations. The remark captures what associates describe as a president increasingly relying on his own instincts, dismissing the counsel of aides, conservative lawmakers and longtime associates.
The result, the Wall Street Journal reported, has been a series of decisions that have confounded and frustrated Republicans, heightening fears that voters will punish the GOP in November’s midterm elections and testing Trump’s grip on the party.
This week, Trump agreed to a preliminary peace deal with Iran that drew sharp criticism from hawkish conservatives and some Republican lawmakers, who argued it offers a financial lifeline to Tehran without doing enough to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), who was defeated in a Republican primary earlier this year by a Trump-backed candidate. He called it “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R., Miss.), who rarely criticizes Trump in public, issued a statement Thursday saying the preliminary agreement “negotiates away the victories” of the war “in ways that are completely out of step with the President’s goals.”
The president also upended Senate plans to quickly confirm a new intelligence chief and renew a critical spying law. Trump prevented his own nominee, Jay Clayton, from appearing at a confirmation hearing so that his acting pick, Housing Secretary Bill Pulte, could serve in the role longer. Trump said he would refuse to sign legislation reauthorizing the spying law, long a priority for his Republican allies in Congress, until lawmakers approve a voter-identification bill that GOP leaders say does not have enough support to pass.
Trump’s decision to install Pulte as acting intelligence director has rankled some of his own aides, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump has in turn expressed frustration with his staff for discouraging him from talking about his hard-edge immigration policies ahead of the midterms, the people said.
As he has faced criticism, Trump has made comments in recent weeks that have stunned his political allies and provided fodder for Democratic political ads, according to people who have spoken to GOP lawmakers and strategists. Trump has said he does not care about the midterm elections, including telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as much, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. He has played down the effect of high prices on Americans, saying “I love the inflation.” And on Wednesday, he said Iran should be able to keep some of its ballistic missiles after his national security advisers had made destroying Tehran’s ballistic missile capabilities a primary objective of the war.
When asked last month about the extent to which Americans’ financial situation motivated him to end the war, the president replied: “Not even a little bit.” He added: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales defended Trump’s approach, saying, “No President has worked harder or delivered more than President Trump.” She pointed to his work on immigration, the economy and national security, and said he “expects all Republicans in the 119th Congress to continue delivering on the America First mandate.”
Ron Bonjean, a former spokesman for House and Senate Republican leadership, said: “The total control that Trump once had over Congress just isn’t there anymore. His outspoken dismissal over Republican midterm election hopes and legislative demands that would place them in harm’s way of voters this November has dampened the relationship.”
Trump has privately expressed frustration with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), citing his inability to pass the voter-ID bill, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump has told allies he’s tired of hearing “no” from Thune. Thune has said there simply isn’t enough support in the Senate to move the voting legislation.
For months, Trump resisted warnings from Republicans and some of his own advisers that the war was worsening the GOP’s political problems, as high gas prices surged after Iran limited traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Recently, however, his messaging shifted. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that continued war could have led to “economic catastrophe” and that oil reserves were on track to run out in about four weeks. He contended the preliminary deal would lead to a rapid economic recovery.
Trump’s decision to sign the Iran deal came unexpectedly during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, surprising some of his own aides who had been planning a separate signing event on Friday, the Journal reported.