NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Here’s the usual media narrative: Donald Trump has done something terrible (or outrageous, or borderline insane), and the Republicans in Congress are wimps who won’t stand up to him.
Rinse, dry, repeat.
But that changed dramatically in the past few days.
New storyline:
Donald Trump has done something beyond the pale and courageous Republicans are standing up to him.
Make them mad as hell, and they won’t take it anymore.
THE ART OF PERFECTION: HOW TRUMP SURVIVED EVEN HIS WORST DREAMS OVER AND OVER.
President Donald Trump attends an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
If you don’t remember this happening before Trump’s second term, that’s because it never happened.
So now you have the press and the GOP majority marching in lockstep.
Rebellion. It’s actually a revolution. And while many journalists love the intra-party bickering on both sides (like the Dems’ 2024 autopsy), they’re more excited about developments that seem to be breaking, or at least loosening, Trump’s iron grip on power.
There was something about Trump’s decision to spend $1.8 billion specifically on those convicted in Jan. 6 which was the furthest bridge. Some of these people attacked and injured the police, seized members’ offices and chanted that Mike Pence had been hanged.
The money came from the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS. He was officially convicted of leaking his tax returns to the New York Times – showing that (legally) he paid no income tax in 10 of 15 years, and just $750 in the other two years.
But it was difficult because the head of government was suing one of his agencies. The publisher, a former IRS contractor, was sentenced to five years in prison.
This is the culmination of a five-year effort by the president to dismiss the protesters, whom he had summoned to Washington and directed to march on the Capitol, as patriots, not lawbreakers. That is in stark contrast to the unrelenting violence we all saw on our televisions when the conflict broke out. It was one of the darkest days in American history, aimed at stopping Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.
AOC, RO KHANNA AND MEDI’S ATTITUDE TO DRIVE COMPETITION 18 MONTHS AGO
The US Capitol in Washington, DC, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The coverage has been explosive as many Republicans on the Hill have strongly opposed what critics call “the purse.”
When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former lawyer, met with Senate Republicans, things exploded.
“My guess is there are probably 45 senators in the room, at least half of them were blasting the attorney general. … They were shouting at the acting attorney general,” said Sen.
Mitch McConnell, who is not a fan of the president, put it this way:
“So the top law enforcement officer is asking for an empty fund to pay people who beat the cops? It’s stupid, it’s unethical – Take your pick.”
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who recently lost his primary thanks to Trump, said of X:
“People are worried about paying their mortgage or rent, buying groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund so the President and his allies can pay whoever they want with no legal basis or accountability.”
Republican Senator Ron Johnson, on CNN, described the entire effort as a “galactic blunder.”
Another senator, Tommy Tuberville, defended Trump’s plan as targeting “hundreds of innocent people.”
After a heated session on the so-called “anti-gun” fund, GOP leaders – worried they should vote for the fund – killed a planned vote on a $72 billion measure to curb illegal immigration.
They also refused to approve the $1 billion White House football stadium the president is busy building.
PARKING THE SUPREME COURT? MALA HARRIS PUSHES IDEA AS PARTY QUICKLY FORGETS ABOUT JOE BIDEN
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is pictured in an undated photo. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
The media is suddenly full of praise for these renegade Republicans, who, with a few exceptions, are generally viewed as friends.
The most likely outcome, in my view, is a mushy compromise involving some change in how awards are made. That’s usually how Mkummeni deals with difficult questions.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
But in the end, as in most matters, Donald Trump will probably get his way, the end of his heavy-handed campaign to hide the negative image of the criminals of Jan. 6.
Footnote: The time will not coincide. Many Republicans–as well as Democrats and the likes of the Wall Street Journal editorial page–are openly critical of Trump’s draft Iran deal.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” said Sen. Thom Tillis.
“A 60-day moratorium – on the assumption that Iran will engage in good faith – would be a disaster,” said Sen. Roger Wicker.
While the details are still being negotiated, the main objection is that the US is complying with Iran’s need to deal with nuclear issues later – without a time limit – once the Strait of Hormuz and other questions have been resolved.
Lindsey Graham, a war hawk and friend of the president, says the vague delay in nuclear weapons “makes one wonder why the war started.”
Perhaps the previously unthinkable idea of Republicans openly opposing Trump is moving forward.
