During a tense, high-stakes trip to China, President Donald Trump unleashed another intensely personal public broadside, publicly demanding the firing of a congressional aide he said had made Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell look foolish.
Yet what truly triggered alarms was the way he handled the move, with critics warning that the president appears less restrained and more prepared than ever to push these public skirmishes into dangerous, new territory.
Trump was aboard Air Force One in the early hours of Wednesday, May 13, when he suddenly fired off a furious post on his Truth Social platform, accompanied by a formal photo of Robert Karem, the majority clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Karem’s supposed offense? McConnell was about to close a hearing Tuesday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who were testifying about Trump’s unapproved war on Iran and a defense budget expansion running well into the trillions, though several Democrats still had questions.
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Karem had signaled to McConnell that the hearing wasn’t over yet, yet his remarks were audible on the senator’s microphone.
A furious Trump blasted Karem in the Truth Social posting.
“The guy that came up to Mitch McConnell today when McConnell thought the hearing was over, and started speaking in his ear for McConnell to belatedly introduce some other people, all Democrats and, by doing so, made Mitch look foolish and completely out of it, should be immediately fired!” Trump ranted.
That claim is false. All subcommittee members, including Democrats, are allotted time to pose questions. Karem was merely assisting McConnell, the committee chair, to keep the proceedings on track and prevent an adjournment before Democratic colleagues had the chance to question the witnesses; nevertheless, critics argue that Trump twisted the exchange between McConnell and Karem to fit his narrative.
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“This was a case where Mitch wasn’t confused, he simply didn’t understand why he was being asked to do something when it was already late, and people were preparing to leave — they wanted to go home,” Trump continued before directing his ire at Karem by name.
“His name is Robert Karem, he is a Never Trumper, and he was grandstanding — trying to show how ‘important’ he was!” the president crowed, but he wasn’t finished, and perhaps what he said next is the real reason behind the post.
“Karem has tremendous Democrat support, far more than he should have, and is praised relentlessly by Obama’s people. He is probably the reason why Mitch McConnell opposes terminating the Filibuster and refuses to back a 97% issue, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. FIRE THE BUM!” Trump ranted.
Social media erupted with anger, challenging Trump’s mental stability and labeling him “the worst president in history.”
“In a few weeks this will look like child’s play. Not only is he declining cognitively, he is becoming more erratic as we get closer to the midterms and they understand the depths of what they’re going to have to do in order to have a chance at remaining in power, democratically,” a Threads user declared.
“Batcrap crazy & crazier by the day/hour. He’s dangerous. No one elected does anything about it. They talk about it and that’s it. DO SOMETHING BEFORE WE LOSE ALL OUR RIGHTS!!!,” a proud Californian fumed on Threads.
“Is this not doxxing???? Beyond deranged either way, mental illness on full display,” this poster declared.
Others attributed his “deranged” message to Trump’s own narcissism.
“He’s scared because he sees himself in Mitch McConnell, as neither of them is cognitively able to lead effectively.”
This user wondered, “That is not how any of that works… What a petty, manipulative, unnecessary asshole move to pull… Never mind if these staffers deserve firing… This is uncalled for.”
Trump has spent months pressuring the Senate to scrap the filibuster so they can pass his SAVE Act with a simple majority, but Republicans understand the considerable risks for their party if they lose the majority.
The House has already passed the measure, which would require voters to show proof of citizenship—such as a birth certificate or passport—when registering to vote, followed by a photo ID at the polls.
The other strange aspect of Trump’s heated post is that, although he labeled Karem a “Never Trumper,” the president actually nominated him to serve as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in 2017, according to The New Republic.
