Trump readies crushing autumn power plays as Democrats search for direction Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNNSeptember 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on August 1 in Washington, DC.
- - Trump readies crushing autumn power plays as Democrats search for direction
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNNSeptember 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on August 1 in Washington, DC. - Win McNamee/Getty Images
A bitter fall looms in American politics, as President Donald Trump flexes unchecked power that often tests the Constitution while Democrats grapple for traction with their voters demanding a fight back.
Trump seems like a president in a hurry, as he threatens to send National Guard troops into more Democratic-run cities; accelerates mass deportations; and takes new swings against the bureaucracy, which last week led to a purge of top scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Abroad, Trump is demanding the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his failure to end two murderous conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. His trade wars have shredded the US reputation as a bastion of economic stability — and pushed India into the arms of superpower China. But his tariff barrage is suddenly looking vulnerable after an appeals court ruled Friday that it is illegal.
Nothing is too small for Trump's attention. He's obsessing over his project to redecorate the White House after paving over the fabled Rose Garden and unveiling plans for a multimillion-dollar ballroom in an East Wing makeover. And his raging late-night social media posts show he's determined to insert himself into every aspect of political, cultural and national life while using his power to harass and investigate his political foes.
But Democrats are finally showing signs of life after enduring an eight-month pummeling by Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has turned to searing mockery of the president's outbursts and elevated himself above potential 2028 rivals for the Democratic nomination. In Illinois, another Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, is seizing the spotlight, warning Trump to keep federal troops out of a promised crime and immigration crackdown in Chicago.
The issue is nuanced politically, however. Trump is betting that his hardline tactics will force Democrats to resist, thus allowing him to argue they are soft on crime.
Trump dares Democrats to resist in shutdown crisis
Another crisis is brewing in Washington, with the government poised to shut down at the end of the month if Congress can't pass a spending bill. Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries set out their price for cooperation in a letter to their Republican counterparts last week demanding action on a "mounting healthcare crisis" they blame on Trump's massive agenda bill.
But a White House official warned that Trump will accept nothing but capitulation, telling CNN, "The president is not going to be constrained."
Members of the West Virginia National Guard carry firearms while patrolling at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, on Sunday. - Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
Democrats face a trap. If they don't stand up to Trump, they will demoralize voters they need to win next year's midterm elections. But they lack leverage in GOP-dominated Washington, as they showed when they talked tough and then caved over a March spending duel. If they use the Senate filibuster to block Trump's spending plans, the president will blame them for the economic consequences of shutting down a government they've spent months trying to save from his MAGA wrecking ball.
Trump spent late summer defying the odd historical quirk that has often dealt presidents serious political blows in August. He stayed in Washington and doubled down on power grabs, federalizing the capital's police force and sending National Guard troops onto the streets despite falling crime figures. He sought to destroy the independence of the Federal Reserve in pursuit of interest rate cuts that experts fear could unleash inflation. He fired the head of the agency that publishes official jobs data after a disappointing report for July. And he falsely accused former President Barack Obama of treason.
"I'm not a dictator," Trump said in a televised Cabinet meeting last week. But he added later: "I (have) the right to do anything I want to do. I'm the president of the United States." His remark betrayed constitutional ignorance but encapsulated his presidency and mindset.
Epstein saga may roar back to life
But Trump may be powerless to defuse the most threatening drama surrounding his presidency — that over his administration's refusal to release files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In an alarming use of the Justice Department to benefit Trump's political goals, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche visited the late disgraced financier's jailed accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The DOJ produced a transcript in which Maxwell said Trump had done nothing wrong despite his past friendship with Epstein. She was moved to a far more comfortable prison, prompting Trump's critics to warn of a corrupt quid pro quo.
Congress' return will thrust the saga back into the spotlight. A House Oversight Committee probe could widen rare splits in Trump's GOP base. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie plan a news conference on Wednesday with 10 of Epstein's victims as the congressmen demand transparency from the White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Khanna predicted an "explosive" event on the steps of the Capitol. "They will be telling their story, and they will be saying clearly to the American public that they want the release of the Epstein files for full closure on this matter," he said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The Epstein saga, while lurid, seems unlikely to be decisive in the midterm elections next year. Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell told CNN's Audie Cornish on Monday that voters are desperate for help.
"People are worried about costs … They are worried about tariffs," Dingell said. "People want us to fight back. I think that some people are getting discouraged. They don't know what to do. They don't like many things that they are seeing, and they don't want us to roll over."
Democrats eye the tiniest of paths in 2026 Senate races
Trump is already seeking to crush Democrats' hopes of winning back the House. His call on Texas Republicans to launch a rare mid-cycle redistricting push could yield five new GOP seats. Newsom responded by launching his own operation to find five new Democratic seats in California, the fate of which will be put to voters in November. But other Republican states may heed Trump's call.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a bill-signing event related to redrawing the state's congressional maps on August 21 in Sacramento, California. - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The president also plans an executive order to ban mail-in voting and require voter identification everywhere. He lacks constitutional authority to do so, but this looks like an ominous effort to discredit the 2026 election should the GOP lose — mirroring the behavior that got him impeached for a second time after the 2020 election.
Democrats face an unfavorable Senate map next year. But they got a glimmer of hope last week after news broke that Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst plans to announce she won't run for a third term, as two sources told CNN.
The state remains a long shot for Democrats, but if they could somehow pull off an upset there and to capture Republican-held seats in Maine and North Carolina — while holding all their current seats — they could reach a 50-50 Senate split. Still, the extra seat they'd need to cancel out Vice President JD Vance's deciding vote looks beyond them, as the most winnable battles are in deep-red Ohio and Texas.
Democrats do expect, however, to reclaim the governor's mansion in Virginia in November through former Rep. Abigail Spanberger. They are also betting on Rep. Mikie Sherrill to win in New Jersey in another 2025 gubernatorial contest that will give voters the chance to weigh in on Trump's second presidency.
Trump flails on Ukraine as China steps into vacuum left by US lost leadership
Trump's ambitions span the globe. His summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in August satisfied his penchant for grand political stages but did nothing to end the war in Ukraine. Putin has escalated attacks on civilians and is stalling Trump's calls for him to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
CNN's Alayna Treene reported Friday that Trump is getting frustrated. His options may be to finally impose the serious consequences he's often threatened on Russia or to walk away entirely. Putin's intransigence is an embarrassment for Trump. But he is the only force who could gather Ukraine, its European allies and the Russians behind any eventual peace deal.
Trump's imperiousness is fraying nerves nearer home following a buildup of US ships and submarines off Venezuela. Speculation is growing over whether he'll use force to try to topple President Nicolás Maduro, whom the administration has branded a top drugs trafficker despite providing no evidence, or over potential strikes against cartel targets elsewhere in the region.
Trump faces a tougher adversary in China, which has defied his tariff war partly because it controls access to much of the world's supply of rare earth elements needed to power US tech and military products.
Trump has signaled he may visit Beijing before the end of the year. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a clear message this weekend that he intends to fill the vacuum left by the US retreat from global leadership at a summit of global strongmen this weekend that included the leaders of India and Russia.
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