Analysis: Trump fumes as top allies back down on his personal battles

Donald Trump has endured a stretch of difficulties, with even his most loyal supporters stepping back from his personal fights. The president’s recent challenges range from a troubled effort to refurbish a Washington landmark to questions about his leadership of the Justice Department and increasingly complex attempts to wind down hostilities with Iran. Many of these issues stem from his own decisions. A familiar pattern has emerged: Trump continues to rely on what he calls “alternative facts,” adhering to his beliefs despite contradictory evidence. Unlike his first term, when most of his prominent clashes involved dissenters inside his administration, his current conflicts have arisen with figures who have proven themselves staunchly loyal to him. On Friday, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney and former Fox News personality who has long backed Trump, moved to dismiss felony destruction‑of‑property charges against former Olympian David Hearn. Federal prosecutors had alleged that Hearn intentionally damaged the Reflecting Pool near the Washington Monument. In a 20‑page tribunal filing announcing the decision, Pirro wrote, “The harm was the effect of a botched installation and not vandalism,” and said her choice to drop the case stemmed from misleading information supplied by the Department of the Interior. Although Trump had championed the vandalism narrative, he stood by it. In a Truth Social post on Saturday he criticized Pirro’s decision, later repeating the comment from the Oval Office on Monday: “She folded similar an umbrella,” he groused. The Reflecting Pool episode illustrated Trump being forced to confront legal reality, while a separate battle unfolded on Capitol Hill. One of his closest allies, former defense lawyer Todd Blanche, encountered strong resistance in his bid to become attorney general on a permanent basis. Two Republican senators—John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina—joined Democrats in blocking Blanche’s nomination. They demanded that he provide a letter formally rejecting any attempt to revive the proposed $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate individuals who claimed to have been victims of politicized government prosecutions. Tillis denounced the idea as a “payout cookware for punks,” warning it could be used to pay those prosecuted for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by Trump’s supporters in 2021. In a separate Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump pledged to keep Blanche in an acting attorney‑general role and to “push hard” for congressional approval of the fund. He wrote, “It will instantly be backmost connected the table, and I will get it done,” suggesting that regardless of the outcome of Blanche’s nomination, he would not abandon the effort. Senate arithmetic, however, proved unavoidable. By the following day Blanche had acquiesced to the senators’ request, submitting two letters that Tillis and Cornyn said addressed their concerns. At the White House on Monday, Blanche avoided the rebuke Pirro had faced. Trump remarked that he “didn't look at” Blanche's documents, adding, “I recognize there's been a sign-off, but I don't know what they agreed.”