Trump's ambitions collide with Epstein, Fed and health concerns

FOR President Donald J. 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.

- 

Mr. Trump’s 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 wasn't in perfect health. And Mr. Trump whipsawed on the fate of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, signaling 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 the UK next week to finalize a trade deal with 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 this month, approval of spending cuts this week, a run of favorable economic data, the signing of a stablecoin bill, and implementation of his aggressive tariff agenda.

Instead, there were suddenly a few punctures in the armor 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, Rupert Murdoch, along with Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. for libel.

The Journal reported on Thursday that Mr. Trump had prepared a letter for a book compiled for Mr. Epstein’s 50th birthday. The president said the letter was “FAKE” and called the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”