Channeling Chevy Chase from his SNL days?' 'I'm the President and You're Not' [View all]
‘I’m the President and You’re Not’: Trump Tests His Power and Frustrates the GOP
President Trump has delivered the same retort to political allies who have offered him strategic advice in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the conversations: “I’m the president and you’re not.”
Seventeen months into his second term, Trump is increasingly relying on his own gut instincts, dismissing the counsel of aides, conservative lawmakers and longtime associates. The result has been a series of decisions that have confounded and frustrated Republicans—heightening fears that voters will punish the GOP in the November elections and testing Trump’s iron grip on the party. Trump drew the ire of hawkish conservatives and some Republican lawmakers this week when he agreed to a preliminary peace deal with Iran that they argue offers a financial lifeline to Tehran without doing enough to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
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The president also blew up the Senate’s plans to quickly confirm a new intelligence chief and renew a critical spying law, preventing his own nominee from appearing at a confirmation hearing so that his acting pick for the job 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 insist doesn’t have enough support to pass.
As he has faced criticism from some in his own party, Trump has made comments in recent weeks that have stunned his political allies, according to people who have spoken to GOP lawmakers and strategists, and provided fodder for Democratic political ads. Trump has said he doesn’t care about the midterm elections. 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.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/im-the-president-and-youre-not-trump-tests-his-power-and-frustrates-the-gop-871732c9?st=SAaU32&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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