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Musk’s tax bill attacks have rattled Republicans. But Trump still reigns supreme

1 24
yesterday

The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump is a godsend for Democrats, a headache for the president and a problem for Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House. Between now and the Fourth of July, Trump expects congressional Republicans to deliver a badly needed win. After more than four months back in the Oval Office, he still lacks a major legislative achievement.

Republicans control both the House and Senate, but the public sees goose eggs on the scoreboard. Almost daily, the courts upend the president’s executive orders. Slim legislative majorities and government by rage come with drawbacks.

Trump’s popularity is under water. The afterglow of inauguration is gone. His so-called Liberation Day has morphed into Groundhog Day, each day beginning and ending as it did the day before. Except Groundhog Day wasn’t a horror movie.

Substantively, Trump’s tariff hikes have brought little by way of jobs or negotiations. On Wednesday, the payroll company ADP reported that monthly US job growth stands at a two-year low. The US dollar weakens, and interest rates climb. Home-buying belongs more and more to the old and wealthy. So much for Republicans having the interests of working Americans at heart.

Yet all is not lost for Trump. He has recast the Republican party in his image. What was once the party of Lincoln belongs to him – Musk, the former king of Doge, be damned. By historical standards, Trump is doing OK. His disapproval numbers stand........

© The Guardian