Ronald Brownstein, Columnist

We’ve Never Seen a President This Unconstrained

Six months in, Donald Trump is showing us daily that he’s unbound by the forces that usually keep presidents from going too far.

July 2, 2025 at 7:30 AM EDT

By Ronald Brownstein

Ronald Brownstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He is also a CNN analyst and previously worked for The Atlantic, The National Journal and the Los Angeles Times. He has won multiple professional awards and is the author or editor of seven books.

Unconstrained.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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From Iran to Capitol Hill, President Trump is governing as if he believes all the constraints that limited him during his first term have collapsed.

He may be right in that assessment. But if he is, both he and his party could ultimately regret it.