President Donald Trump is on a winning streak.
He has demonstrated his powerful influence by stopping armed conflicts on the diplomatic stage and has also demonstrated his political power by pushing through key bills in domestic politics to overcome important legislative thresholds. Even the Supreme Court is supporting President Trump with favorable rulings.
On the 28th (local time), the British broadcaster BBC highlighted President Trump’s victories over the past week, saying that he was very encouraged by his recent “tremendous” victory. The first achievement to be discussed is the ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel.
On the 21st, President Trump announced a “complete and comprehensive ceasefire” between Iran and Israel just two days after the US military struck three Iranian nuclear facilities with bunker buster missiles. The early stages of the ceasefire were precarious. Iran and Israel criticized each other for breaking the agreement. Perhaps anxious that the barely held ceasefire agreement might break, President Trump even hurled a harsh “F” at Iran and Israel during a live Q&A with reporters. As a result, with the ceasefire agreement upheld, President Trump was able to claim that his military “gamble” of directly attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities paid off.
The BBC evaluated that when he calls himself a “peacemaker,” he can now cite this attack as evidence. He also won a victory in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
On the 25th, NATO member countries agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) within 10 years, a decision that accepted President Trump’s long-standing request. While flying to the Netherlands to attend the NATO summit, President Trump received a text message filled with extreme flattery from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Secretary General Rutte did not stop at this text message, and during a press conference, he heightened the level of flattery by comparing President Trump to a “strict father.”
President Trump did not hide his satisfaction. Regarding Secretary General Rutte, he joked, “He must like me. If he doesn’t, I’ll go back and give him a good slap.” The White House also posted several videos using Secretary General Rutte’s expression to refer to President Trump as “father.”
In the United States, the Supreme Court gave President Trump wings.
On the 27th, the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority of 6 to 3, ruled that individual federal judges cannot issue injunctions to suspend the effect of federal government policies throughout the United States in a case related to President Trump’s “birthright citizenship” (U.S. citizenship based on the principle of nationality).Previously, a preliminary injunction decision from a lower court was applied across the United States, but with the Supreme Court ruling on this day, the decision’s influence will only apply to the plaintiffs, the parties to the lawsuit.
The judiciary’s power to check the executive branch has been significantly limited.
The BBC explained that thanks to this decision, President Trump was able to push through many policies that had been hindered by the court’s brakes. It is said that it functions like an extraterritoriality in the immigration deportation policy, allowing him to freeze funds for cities that were considered “holy cities,” suspend refugee acceptance policies, and block government funding for gender reassignment surgeries.
President Trump even held an impromptu press conference regarding this decision, rejoicing that “the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of law have achieved a monumental victory.” President Trump’s triumphant report continued in Congress. On the 28th, the Senate passed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” procedure by a vote of 51 to 49. The Republican Party holds a majority in the Senate with 53 seats. Despite the two Republican lawmakers’ dissenting votes, the bill’s passage through Congress has greatly increased its chances of success.
President Trump expressed his excitement by posting on his social media account after midnight, saying, “Tonight, we witnessed a great victory on ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill.’” Although he has enjoyed the joy of victory recognized by everyone for the past week, it is unlikely that President Trump will have a smooth road ahead. Above all, the agreement on ‘reciprocal tariffs,’ another key policy of President Trump, is a major variable.
The expiration of the reciprocal tariff grace period (July 9) is only ten days away, but the Trump administration has currently signed only two trade agreements, one with the UK and one with China.
It needs to reach a differentiated reciprocal tariff agreement with about 50 economic entities, including Korea, but there is no sign of an agreement being reached right away. Against this backdrop, there is talk of the possibility of the grace period being extended. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt responded in a briefing to the question of whether the mutual tariff grace period would be extended, saying, “It could be extended,” and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, who is in charge of the matter, said, “We hope to complete it by September 1, Labor Day in the U.S.,” adding support to this speculation.
In a related article titled, “Tariff deal deadlocked at worst possible time,” CNN pointed out, “The U.S. economy remains strong, but cracks are forming. Tariffs are a major factor. The longer the agreement is delayed, the more uncertainty there could be.”