'Pockets of rebellion' stalling Trump's second-term total power grab: analysis

Donald Trump's administration is facing more resistance than the president is used to, according to a political analyst who believes it is affecting Trump's plans.

The president has been pushed back by a dwindling approval rating, ICE shootings in Minneapolis, and the ongoing release of Jeffrey Epstein's files. These issues, CNN analyst Stephen Collinson believes, are only part of the problem the president faces. Trump is now facing strong pockets of resistance, which could make his time in office tricky.

Collinson wrote, "The president hasn’t repudiated his quest for total power. But he’s beginning to hit small but significant pockets of rebellion.

Every week, more people show they are less frightened of the president. That even includes some Republicans. Some of Trump’s most cherished policies and personal goals face increasing disruption from political action, the courts, individual citizens, and the inexorable gravity of electoral politics."

The analyst believes Trump has failed to throw his weight around in Minneapolis, and is now facing opposition from the courts elsewhere in the country.

"On Thursday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced the end of the surge of thousands of federal officers to Minnesota," Collinson wrote. "He insisted the countrywide deportation crackdown would not relent and that the force had achieved its goals, including by making more than 4,000 arrests.

"Yet its departure and the step back from the most aggressive on-the-street tactics still represented a reversal. It followed weeks of protests and public outrage over the broad-daylight killings of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The politics of the purge in Minnesota are simply no longer sustainable."

Pressure on Mark Kelly also lessened when they declined to pursue Pete Hegseth's bid to punish the Arizona Democratic Party representative.

Collinsion explained, "The courts have been another reliable brake on Trump’s power grabs, even if the administration has won its share of big decisions.

"In Washington on Thursday, a judge shut down Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bid to punish retired Navy captain and Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly for “sedition” — one of the most grievous charges that can be laid against anyone. (Hegseth said the administration would “immediately” appeal the decision.)"

This rebellious nature seen in parts of the country has, according to Collinson, instilled a pushback in the GOP too. He added, "Sometimes, a scent of rebellion can be catching.

"Six Republicans just defied their party’s leadership and voted with Democrats in the House to repeal the president’s tariffs on Canada— reflecting growing anxiety about the cost of his 19th-century-style trade policies.