The craziest thing about Trump’s slowly weakening grip over Republicans in Congress isn’t that it’s happening. It’s that some Republicans are even starting to say it’s happening, right out loud. “He’d be the outlier if it didn’t happen,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told the New York Times yesterday. “The closer you get to the midterms and then beyond, everybody is measuring their own state or congressional district, and maybe people are a little more independent.” We’re sure Trump will take that well. Happy Friday.

A Panicking Trump Is a Dangerous Trump

by William Kristol

On Tuesday of this week, Donald Trump was loving life.

In the Oval Office, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, an autocrat Trump admires and envies, was laying the flattery on thick. At that evening’s White House state dinner, American elites were striving for new heights of shameless sycophancy.

Cristiano Ronaldo was hanging out in the Oval. Elon Musk was singing his praises. What was not to like?

And then, 24 hours later, Donald Trump had to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This was something not to like.

Trump tried to put on the best face he could. In a long post on Truth Social Wednesday evening, he took credit for the bill’s passage. He predicted it “would backfire on the Democrats” because of their “associations with Jeffrey Epstein.” And he urged one and all not to let any of this…

…distract from our AMAZING Victories, including THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL TAX CUT BILL, Strong Borders, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, lowering Prices, Biggest Tax and Regulation Cuts in History, ending EIGHT Wars, rebuilding our Military, knocking out Iran’s Nuclear capability, getting Trillions of Dollars INVESTED in the U.S.A., creating the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World, and even delivering a HUGE DEFEAT to the Democrats on the recent Shutdown Disaster.

One thinks the man doth protest too much.

Trump must not have slept well Wednesday night. Because when he woke Thursday he unleashed no less than sixteen frenzied posts and reposts accusing Democratic members of Congress of treason and sedition. Six Democratic lawmakers, all of whom had served in the military or in the intelligence community—Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Jason Crow (D-CO)—had on Tuesday released a video reminding military and intelligence officers that they should not obey illegal orders.

First, Trump reposted comments from others accusing the veterans of “TREASON!” among other things. Then at 9:08 am, Trump explained matters in his own voice:

It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand—We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET. President DJT.

An hour later, Trump elaborated, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

This was too much even for Senate majority leader John Thune, who acknowledged when pressed that he disagreed with the president’s call for the execution of his colleagues. And it provoked a rebuke from National Review and Fox News legal analyst Andy McCarthy: “There is no insurrect