By Kenneth Tiven
As the United States slips into holiday mode for the remainder of the year, substantial pieces of unfinished government business are converging in ways that could extinguish whatever seasonal cheer exists inside the Donald Trump White House.
At the top of the list is Trump’s sweeping tariff regime. A Supreme Court decision striking it down would represent a stunning rebuke from the friendliest high court any president has ever enjoyed—and would force the federal government to rebate billions of dollars already collected. Upholding the tariffs, on the other hand, would lock in a prolonged global realignment of manufacturing and trade, driving higher costs directly onto American consumers.
Equally corrosive is Trump’s ongoing struggle to deflect scrutiny surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. The late financier and convicted sex trafficker continues to cast a long shadow over the former president. A congressional subpoena has compelled the Epstein Estate to release documents and photographs—material that has already reignited public attention. The Department of Justice (DOJ), under orders from Congress, is also preparing to release its own trove of Epstein-related records. However redacted or limited the disclosures may be under Attorney General Pam Bondi, the damage is unavoidable.
The political timing could scarcely be worse. With mid-term elections just 11 months away, the Epstein issue is poised to surface repeatedly. Last week, a federal judge ruled that the DOJ could publicly release investigative materials connected to the sex-trafficking case that sent Ghislaine Maxwell—Epstein’s long-time partner—to prison for 20 years. Maxwell is serving her sentence in a special facility for female white-collar offenders, a placement ordered by the DOJ in contravention of its own rules.
Inside the West Wing, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has maintained a notably low profile while quietly warning Trump against some of his worst impulses. In her own way, she has made the trains of chaos run on time. Trump does not always listen, but he appears to respect her judgment.
That respect was tested by remarks attributed to Wiles in a magazine article this past week. She described Trump as having “an alcoholic’s personality”, Vice-President JD Vance as “a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” and his conversion to Trump’s cause as politically expedient rather than principled. Elon Musk, she said, is an “avowed ketamine” user and “an odd, odd duck” whose behaviour left her “aghast”. Budget Director Russell T Vought was labelled “a right-wing absolute zealot”, while Bondi, she said, “completely whiffed” in handling the Epstein files.
Despite the bluntness, those working closest to Trump rushed to defend Wiles, citing her long relationship with the president and his reliance on her steadiness. It is possible Trump himself recognizes that lapses in coherence and impulse control—what critics describe as synaptic fragmentation—are signs of fatigue and age, something Wiles would have observed first-hand since their association began in 2015.
Trump’s impulsiveness again burst into public view following the deaths of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele—figures long prominent in both show business and Democratic Party politics. Trump’s Truth Social response was widely condemned as grotesquely tone-deaf.
In a rambling post, Trump framed their deaths as the result of “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” concluding with a perfunctory “May Rob and Michele rest in peace!” The backlash was swift and bipartisan. Even Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia rebuked the message, writing: “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”
The tragedy deepened when Los Angeles prosecutors charged the couple’s younger son, Nick Reiner, 32, with two counts of first-degree murder. He had been living in a guesthouse on the family property.
One Trump supporter captured the unease felt even among loyalists: “I know he won’t, but I believe Trump ought to apologize for his snarky comments following the Reiners’ horrific murders. He would have been better off if he’d just kept his motor-mouth shut.” The writer added, “I’d still vote for him again.” Others may not.
Voters are increasingly anxious about immigration, affordability, healthcare costs, and the spectre of unrestrained military action abroad. The administration insists the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” against drug cartels, a claim widely dismissed by legal experts who argue there is no lawful basis for deadly attacks on small boats alleged to be trafficking drugs off Venezuela’s coast.
Tensions escalated dramatically when US Navy SEALs were air-dropped onto an oil tanker and seized control of the vessel. The administration claims a federal warrant authorized by the Treasury Department—based on sanctions imposed in 2022 for smuggling Iranian oil—justified the operation.
The move is part of a broader strategy aimed at destabilizing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government and reasserting US influence over the country’s oil revenues. Trump has since ordered a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, a dramatic escalation that edges perilously close to open conflict.
MAGA rhetoric may sound aggressive, but a shooting war is the last thing many supporters want their sons fighting. While renewed access to Venezuelan oil appeals to parts of the energy sector, sustained military entanglement does not.
Epstein. The economy. Healthcare costs. Affordability. The risk of war. These issues will dominate the road to 2026. And as The New York Times has reported in its exhaustive investigation into Epstein’s untold story, the past Trump would prefer buried shows no sign of staying that way.
—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels
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