State Of War: How Trump Is Fighting A 9-front Battle

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President Trump is fighting a warfare pinch galore battlefields.

It’s a nine-front crusade, though I could easy double that number.

If there’s a communal thread here, it’s nan president taking connected elite institutions that he has agelong resented aliases reviled.

That’s why his first 3 months look stuck connected hyperspeed – critics would opportunity chaos – because he’s surgery pinch nan accepted exemplary of tackling 1 aliases 2 issues astatine a time. Voters gave him a 2nd word to shingle things up. It’s nan first Trump term connected steroids.

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The president is surrounded by loyalists who promote his flood-the-zone approach, dissimilar immoderate of nan much accepted figures (Rex Tillerson, Jim Mattis, Gary Cohn) who tried to restrain him nan past clip he lived successful nan White House.

One advantage is that he uses Truth Social arsenic a weapon, unloading connected those who displease him.

And yet he still finds clip to abolish rules limiting ablution pressure, telephone for nan abolition of pennies, and travel retired against changing clocks (though his stance connected daylight savings is unclear) – each matters that impact people’s regular lives.

Here, successful nary peculiar order, are Donald Trump’s 9 battlegrounds: 

1. TOP PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

Although Trump himself went to nan Wharton School, he is perpetually attacking Columbia and different apical Ivy colleges. Harvard, wherever he has stiff much than $2 cardinal successful national backing and different $7 cardinal is astatine risk, is fighting back. Plus, nan IRS is looking astatine revoking nan university’s tax-exempt status.

Trump/Harvard split

Trump has publically criticized Harvard University aggregate times successful caller weeks. (Getty Images | iStock)

The White House now admits that nan missive a Trump charismatic transmitted to Harvard was "unauthorized" and should not person been sent. Harvard officials were stunned because they thought they were successful nan process of negotiating a colony pinch nan administration. 

2. LAW FIRMS

One elephantine rule patient aft another, nether unit from Trump, has caved and reached settlements pinch nan White House. This involves agreeing to supply up to $100 cardinal aliases moreover $125 cardinal successful pro bono services connected matters important to nan administration. The replacement is an executive bid pulling its members’ information clearances, making it intolerable to service their firm clients without entree to concealed data. A fewer firms person fought back, and immoderate attorneys person resigned successful protest, but astir are volunteering to settle.

3. MEDIA 

President Trump has sued CBS, NBC and Gannett. He won a $16-million suit against ABC–approved by Disney–after George Stephanopoulos many times called him a rapist erstwhile he was really held liable for intersexual abuse. Even if nan suits spell nowhere, journalists and news outlets person to prosecute lawyers and spell done an ordeal.

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Trump has agelong utilized nan property arsenic a foil, but now he ridicules nan likes of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins erstwhile she tries to inquire questions. He refused to return a mobility from an NBC reporter, saying nan web has nary credibility. And yet Trump provides an perfectly stunning grade of access. He takes questions virtually each time and has taken complete nan property excavation (with nan AP still excluded). The sum is overwhelmingly anti-Trump–sometimes that’s self-inflicted–but that besides boosts clicks and ratings. It’s a love-hate relationship.

4. FEDERAL RESERVE

The markets nose-dived again yesterday arsenic Trump stepped up his individual battle connected Fed Chairman Jerome Powell successful an evident effort to unit him into resigning. Powell’s occupation is to interest astir inflation, not to goose nan system because nan president wants him to trim liking rates.

Jerome Powell

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responds to a mobility from David Rubenstein (not pictured) during an on-stage chat astatine a gathering of The Economic Club of Washington, astatine nan Renaissance Hotel successful Washington, D.C., U.S, February 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo)

The full tariff warfare has spooked Wall Street and alienated specified friends arsenic Canada (the 51st State???), Mexico and nan European Union. He many times promised a tariff warfare during nan campaign, but nary 1 expected tariffs of this magnitude, moreover against China, which has retaliated. Now Trump says he’ll moreover activity retired a woody pinch China. The 90-day region concisely seemed to stabilize things, but whether nan president tin onslaught deals pinch 90 countries successful 90 days remains to beryllium seen.

5. COURTS

Donald Trump has a agelong history of attacking judges and prosecutors. Now he is going up to nan line, and possibly crossing it, erstwhile it comes to challenging tribunal rulings, moreover pinch a 6-3 blimpish mostly connected nan Supreme Court.

The different day, nan president deflected questions astir nan wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, telling reporters to speak to nan lawyers. The adjacent day, he unloaded astatine magnitude connected Abrego Garcia, saying he’s a convulsive man who deserves to beryllium successful situation and criticizing Chris Van Hollen’s travel to sojourn him successful a cautiously staged photograph op.

Abrego Garcia whitethorn good beryllium a pack member, but a erstwhile tribunal ruling had recovered he should not beryllium sent to El Salvador. Politically, this is simply a winning rumor for Trump. But erstwhile SCOTUS ruled 9-0 that he should "facilitate" Garcia’s return, Trump beautiful overmuch ignored it.

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In a abstracted case, nan Supreme Court, 7-2, ordered Trump not to move a 2nd activity of Venezuelan migrants from wherever they are being held. This time, nan management agreed to travel nan ruling. 

6. FORMER AIDES

The president is going aft 2 of his appointees from nan first term.

He has ordered an investigation of his erstwhile cybersecurity chief, Chris Krebs, for "falsely and baselessly" denying that nan 2020 predetermination was rigged. He called Krebs a "significant bad-faith character who weaponized and abused his authorities authority," meaning Krebs recovered what each different probe, including 1 by Attorney General Bill Barr, found–no grounds of important fraud.

Trump besides ordered a probe of Miles Taylor, amended known arsenic "Anonymous," for nan New York Times op-ed he wrote ripping nan president. 

Taylor, a erstwhile Homeland Security official, "wrote a book nether nan pseudonym ‘Anonymous,’ making outrageous claims some about your management and astir others successful it," nan president was told successful a memo. So he excessively is nether investigation. Trump moreover accused Taylor of committing "treason." 

7. HILL REPUBLICANS

The president has pressured members of his ain statement into going on pinch conscionable astir thing he wants. Other than nan Matt Gaetz fiasco, that has meant approving each his nominees, contempt doubts astir nan likes of Pete Hegseth and RFK Jr. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to springiness a tv question and reply extracurricular nan White House, connected Friday, March 21, 2025, successful Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

He has openly warned that he will usage Elon Musk’s money to motorboat superior opponents against those who defy him. Musk has been a power shield for Trump, though he has surgery pinch him connected tariffs. Remember that Musk poured money into that Wisconsin Supreme Court conflict and lost. The chainsaw looks very different now.

While nan convulsive attacks against Tesla person been despicable, Musk has besides had to admit, aft vowing to trim $1 trillion, that he’ll only beryllium capable to prevention $150 billion. Musk besides admitted firing and having to rehire vertebrate flu experts and atomic explosive specialists, but remains nan world’s richest man.

Lisa Murkowski conscionable came retired and said it: They are each acrophobic to knock Trump for fearfulness of governmental retaliation. 

8. KENNEDY CENTER

It’s ne'er been done, but nan president fired each nan Democratic committee members and named himself chairman. He’s moreover suggested that he should big nan yearly awards fixed retired for nan sparkling building connected nan Potomac named for JFK – not because he needs nan attention, he says, but because it would beryllium bully for ratings.

The committee has ever been bipartisan, but that doesn’t fuss Trump. 

Some performers, led by Lin-Manuel Miranda of "Hamilton" fame, person already pulled out. Will only blimpish performers get nan greenish light?

I’ve picked nan Kennedy Center arsenic an illustration of Trump’s civilization wars, but he’s besides taken purpose astatine nan Smithsonian Institution and nan National Zoo. 

9. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY

The president, pinch thief from JD Vance, utterly humiliated nan Ukrainian president during that meltdown gathering astatine nan White House. Now Zelenskyy bears a bully spot of work for nan conflict – he should person kept his rima unopen and walked distant pinch an agreement, but took nan bait. 

Trump went a measurement further, kicking him retired of nan White House and sending him home.

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Now Trump, done Marco Rubio, says he whitethorn springiness up connected negotiating a cease-fire successful Ukraine. That’s precisely what Vladimir Putin wants, truthful he tin support connected seizing onshore from nan brave Ukrainians. One point that Trump said he would do, but hasn’t done, is unit his pal Putin. He still blames Zelenskyy and Ukraine for having nan temerity to beryllium invaded by nan Kremlin. 

That’s nan list. Feel free to create your own. Sometimes it useful for Donald Trump, sometimes it doesn’t. But it helps explicate nan dizzying gait of alteration and sends an unmistakable connection that he is successful charge.

Howard Kurtz is nan big of FOX News Channel's MediaBuzz (Sundays 11 AM-12PM/ET). Based successful Washington, D.C., he joined nan web successful 2013 and regularly appears on Special Report pinch Bret Baier and The Story pinch Martha MacCallum among different programs.

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