{"id":91697,"date":"2025-09-29T01:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T01:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/91697\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T01:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T01:10:14","slug":"the-never-ending-trump-show-is-pushing-all-boundaries-with-no-let-up-in-sight-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/91697\/","title":{"rendered":"The never-ending Trump show is pushing all boundaries, with no let-up in sight \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump was gleeful on Thursday night as he reacted to the federal indictment of James Comey<\/a>, the former FBI director who for years has been an object of the president\u2019s scorn.<\/p>\n

\u201cJUSTICE IN AMERICA!\u201d the US president declared on social media, celebrating the charges of obstruction and making false statements levelled against one of his top political foes.<\/p>\n

The criminal prosecution of Comey, which Trump<\/a> was so desperate to secure that he abruptly replaced the prosecutors on the case just a few days ago, marks a stunning escalation in the president\u2019s campaign of judicial retribution that he placed at the heart of his second presidential term.<\/p>\n

It highlights Trump\u2019s over-brimming confidence as he seeks to impose his Maga right-wing agenda with a mixture of fierce determination, disdain for conventional restraints and near-endless showmanship.<\/p>\n

\n

He\u2019s going full-bore and he\u2019s trying to test the boundaries of what he can do <\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Doug Heye, a senior Republican strategist<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The US Department of Justice\u2019s move against Comey \u2013 which came at the same time as the announcement of a slew of new US tariffs<\/a> on imports of products ranging from drugs to trucks \u2013 came a few days after Trump told pregnant women not to take a common painkiller<\/a> because of its unproven links with autism. Last Sunday, he delivered a eulogy blasting his enemies at the Arizona memorial service for Charlie Kirk<\/a>, the slain conservative activist. \u201cI hate my opponent and I don\u2019t want the best for them,\u201d Trump said with a smile.<\/p>\n

\"FramedFramed portraits of US president Donald Trump flank an image of former US president Joe Biden’s signature along the presidential walk of fame at the White House. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Even in the face of relatively lacklustre approval ratings and a vulnerable economy, and with midterm elections little more than a year away, Trump is willing to risk the perception that he is exceeding his powers and overplaying his hand \u2013 almost on a daily basis \u2013 in order to galvanise his devoted base of right-wing and conservative voters.<\/p>\n

In an era where social media and vibes are driving so much of public life, Trump seems to be betting that if he can keep dominating the nation\u2019s attention, this will allow him to defy conventional political gravity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going full-bore and he\u2019s trying to test the boundaries of what he can do,\u201d says Doug Heye, a senior Republican strategist.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump and his team have seemed very committed to enacting a much sharper ideological agenda . . . almost heedless of whether people support it,\u201d adds Matt Dallek, political historian and a professor at George Washington University.<\/p>\n

Free speech<\/b><\/p>\n

Fresh on the agenda is free speech, with the Kirk murder triggering a push by Trump and his allies to quash any criticism of the victim, who was aligned with many White House positions on everything from immigration to diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n

Trump cheered on ABC\u2019s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night television show host, for his comments about Kirk\u2019s death, before he was allowed to return to air. The US president also threatened that TV networks could lose their licences if they are too biased against the White House, in what is widely seen as another affront to free speech.<\/p>\n

But Trump is not only focused on avenging Kirk. On Monday, the US president issued controversial new guidelines to warn pregnant women not to take acetaminophen, the fever reducer known as Tylenol in the US and paracetamol in Ireland, based on unproven claims it contributed to autism. <\/p>\n

Instead, women needed to \u201ctough it out\u201d, Trump said in a comment alongside health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. \u201cIt recalls some of the worst excesses of his leadership during Covid . . . and was a big reason why he lost the 2020 election,\u201d says Dallek.<\/p>\n

\"USUS president Donald Trump speaks about autism in the White House next to US health secretary Robert F Kennedy jnr. Photograph: Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

On the foreign policy front, Trump was in New York this week, with his key focus being the discussions over a massive US financial rescue for Argentina and its libertarian president Javier Milei. But Trump made waves in other ways. He abruptly shifted the US to a more pro-Ukraine stance in its war against Russia with a single social media post declaring that Kyiv could take all its territory back. And separately, in a meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders, he said Israel should not be allowed to annex the occupied West Bank when the US seem poised to give it the green light.<\/p>\n

When it was time to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, he criticised them for seeking to combat climate change and pursuing lax immigration policies. The lengthy tirade has drawn comparisons to speeches delivered at the UN by the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 and the late Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2009.<\/p>\n

\"DonaldDonald Trump speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, during which he criticised countries for being climate conscious, among several other gripes. Photograph: Michael M Santiago\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference is Gaddafi was irrelevant and Donald Trump isn\u2019t,\u201d says Jon Alterman of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Of Trump\u2019s unpredictable, ever-shifting approach to foreign policy, Alterman says: \u201cHe\u2019s much more comfortable with disorder than all the people around him and he uses that as a superpower. Nobody\u2019s exactly sure where he\u2019s trying to go, but everybody also thinks he can be brought over to their side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rewarded<\/b><\/p>\n

At the White House, officials are confident that Trump is in a strong position and will be rewarded for fulfilling many of his key promises.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the fake news cannot deny that president Trump has had his foot on the gas since day one, when he signed a litany of executive orders to secure our border, restore sanity against woke nonsense, unleash American energy and end America\u2019s era of economic surrender on global trade,\u201d said Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson. \u201cThe pace has never slowed and president Trump is committed to running at full steam until he finally restores American greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel says silencing comedians is \u2018anti American\u2019, as his show returns to air after suspensionOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

But there are signs of some unease in his coalition \u2013 even from unexpected quarters.<\/p>\n

Texas senator Ted Cruz, who challenged Trump for the 2016 Republican nomination but has since embraced the president, has taken issue with White House pressure on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the media regulator, to clamp down on political and even satirical dissent. Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chair, has publicly criticised Kimmel\u2019s comments about Kirk and suggested the network\u2019s licences could be removed.<\/p>\n

\"RepublicanRepublican senator Ted Cruz has spoken about the importance of not interfering with free speech. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying we\u2019re going to decide what speech we like and what we don\u2019t, and we\u2019re going to threaten to take you off air if we don\u2019t like what you\u2019re saying,\u201d Cruz said on his podcast.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Senate majority leader John Thune also questioned the FCC chair\u2019s rhetoric and the president\u2019s threats to ABC.<\/p>\n

\n

This thing is a complete political hatchet job and I think it\u2019s going to blow up in the Trump administration\u2019s face<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Senator Tim Kaine<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAs a general matter, my view is that the government ought to stay out of the free speech marketplace unless there are clear violations that violate laws that are in place to protect the American people,\u201d Thune told CNN. \u201cI think that any decisions that are made with respect to programming ought to be made by the companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thune also took issue with the administration\u2019s new advice about acetaminophen. \u201cI think science ought to guide these discussions and our decision-making around our health . . . I think there are an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor, called on the US Department of Health and Human Services to release data to support its claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n

But when it came to Comey\u2019s indictment, there were scant critics within the Republican party. \u201cJames Comey was not indicted because Donald Trump doesn\u2019t like him. Comey demonstrated complete arrogance and unwillingness to comply with the law,\u201d Cruz wrote on X on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Democrats, however, believe the Comey indictment is a clear case of over-reach that will have political consequences. \u201cThis thing is a complete political hatchet job and I think it\u2019s going to blow up in the Trump administration\u2019s face,\u201d Tim Kaine, the Democratic Virginia senator, said. Comey has said he is innocent and is looking forward to a trial.<\/p>\n

\"DemocraticDemocratic senator Tim Kaine has strongly criticised the indictment of James Comey. Photograph: Drew Angerer\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

The Comey prosecution may only be the beginning. The Department of Justice is already investigating John Bolton, Trump\u2019s former national security adviser, and the president has warned that law enforcement will be targeting a vast network of left-wing groups and individuals. In the Oval Office on Thursday evening, he named \u201cSoros\u201d \u2013 an apparent reference to George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund investor \u2013 and Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, as next on the list. \u201cI hear names of some pretty rich people that are radical left people,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

The fact of the matter is Republicans and their strategists do not believe any kind of tipping point has been reached yet, one where Republican voters and lawmakers lose faith in Trump and try to distance themselves from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are areas where they will find disagreement with Trump, but those are not cracks in support for Trump. Not at all,\u201d says Heye, the Republican strategist.<\/p>\n

Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, says Trump has been losing some support among independents and his negative ratings on handling the economy and trade are a \u201cproblem\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was elected basically for four reasons: to bring down inflation, to juice the economy, to stop illegal immigration, to get away from woke culture. Any slippage on the first two runs very much against why people voted for him to be president again,\u201d Ayres says.<\/p>\n

\"USUS president Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House for the funeral of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo\/European Pressphoto Agency <\/p>\n

Trump allies are also bracing for more potential fallout from the clamour on Capitol Hill to release more information about government investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier. <\/p>\n

With the election this week of Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, in a special election in Arizona, lawmakers Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie now have the critical 218 signatures for a \u201cdischarge petition\u201d that will force a vote in the House on disclosing federal files related to Epstein. The vote is expected to pass given a critical number of Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats in calling for transparency in the case, which will pile more pressure on Trump.<\/p>\n

But any new drama over Epstein could be diluted by the possibility of a government shutdown as early as Wednesday. Trump seems to be gearing up for a fight now, after he scrapped a meeting with Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to find a way to keep the government open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so divided now and people are so partisan in their viewpoints, I am inclined to say that people will simply blame the other party regardless,\u201d says Ford O\u2019Connell, a Republican strategist in Florida.<\/p>\n

Trump expects that he will handily prevail in any stand-off with Schumer and Jeffries over the shutdown. \u201cThe Democrats are crazed, they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing,\u201d the US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, sporting his usual bravado. \u2013 Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donald Trump was gleeful on Thursday night as he reacted to the federal indictment of James Comey, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,356,13,14,6,56888,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,384,107,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-91697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-james-comey","15":"tag-latest-news","16":"tag-latestnews","17":"tag-main-news","18":"tag-mainnews","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-top-stories","21":"tag-topstories","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-world","25":"tag-world-news","26":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}