Reversal of fortunes for Trump after events of the past week

Epstein saga, war on Fed chief, health woes have rendered US leader slightly vulnerable

- 

For US President Donald Trump, whose political career has benefited from voter anxiety over Washington elites, the health of his predecessor and the riches of Wall Street, the past week offered a reversal of fortune.

His efforts to escape the uproar over Jeffrey Epstein failed spectacularly, after The Wall Street Journal published a story alleging he once sent a suggestive birthday letter to the disgraced financier – a claim the President denied.

The White House was forced to make a rare disclosure that Mr Trump was not in perfect health. And the President whipsawed on the fate of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, signalling to lawmakers that he would attempt to fire him before relenting after concern about a market backlash.

Now, as Mr Trump gears up for a high-profile trip to Britain this week to finalise a trade deal with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he finds himself looking slightly vulnerable.

There was much Mr Trump hoped to harness in what he called a "week of wins" — passage of his flagship tax-cut package earlier in July, approval of spending cuts last week, a run of favourable economic data, the signing of a stablecoin Bill, and implementation of his aggressive tariff agenda.

Instead, there were suddenly a few punctures in the armour of a president who at times in his second term has seemed irrepressible as he bent rival institutions, countries and political opponents to his will.

Mr Trump concluded the week posting angrily to social media and suing one of his top allies in the press, Mr Rupert Murdoch, along with Dow Jones & Co and News Corp for libel.

The Journal reported on July 17 that Mr Trump had prepared a letter for a book compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. The President said the letter was "fake" and called the story "false, malicious and defamatory".