Trump’s transition
Trump transition
Trump transition
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The incoming president has told allies he wants to seize momentum and avoid the missteps of his first administration.
By Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman
Donald J. Trump sat in the middle of a U-shaped table, surrounded by his far-right allies. It was a Friday night, 10 days before his inauguration, and Trump hosted a few dozen members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus in Mar-a-Lago’s white-and-gold ballroom and explained how he saw this moment of force
The 45th president (and soon to be the 47th) said Democrats were damaged, demoralized and disorganized, according to two other people in the room. And while he admits that “sometimes an injured animal is the most dangerous thing,” he points out that he wants to exploit its weakness. It’s time to think big.
Whether it’s his idea for “one big, beautiful bill” to ram through his multitrillion-dollar legislative agenda, his hunger for a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war (and perhaps fulfill his first-term dream of a Nobel Peace Prize), his desire to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada for the United States, or his insistence to an adviser that he will keep signing executive orders on Inauguration Day “until my hand breaks” — Mr. Trump has indicated that he wants to begin his presidency with a demonstration of strength.
He knows from experience that he will have to act quickly; He begins his presidency as an outgoing duck. And after the 2026 midterm elections, when attention turns to his successor, Trump is unlikely to wield the same influence among congressional Republicans and American businesses.
“We had a Republican margin of 40 seats in the House in 2017, and yet we struggled to tick off the list of accomplishments,” said Kellyanne Conway, his 2016 crusade director and who served as a senior White House adviser during his first term. “This time the majority is weaker, but the mandate is broader. President Trump knows that he can act with alacrity and immediacy. »
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