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Trump is 'unfettered' and more comfortable with power in his second term, journalists say

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Flood, B. (2026, September 18). Trump is 'unfettered' and more comfortable with power in his second term, journalists say. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-unfettered-comfortable-power-second-term-journalists-say

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Fox News · collected 2026-09-18 · by Brian Flood

Quick Summary

Journalists covering President Donald Trump’s second term at the Atlantic magazine's annual festival noted that he is now more confident and comfortable with his role, using the presidency’s power resources effectively. Reporters Jonathan Lemire, Ashley Parker, Missy Ryan, and Michael Scherer highlighted a more cohesive White House staff under Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (the article mistakenly mentions Susie Wiles), indicating less internal conflict compared to Trump's first term. This unity has also made it harder for journalists to obtain insider information from within the administration.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

At the Atlantic magazine’s annual festival at Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City, reporters Jonathan Lemire, Ashley Parker, Missy Ryan, and Michael Scherer discussed their experiences covering President Donald Trump. They noted that Trump, entering his second term, is more comfortable with power and operates with less restraint than before. Lemire stated Trump has completed "arguably the greatest comeback in American political history," now trusting only his instincts and a close circle of loyalists. The reporters highlighted the shift from remnants of the old Republican establishment to a new administration filled with true believers. Additionally, they observed changes in how Trump interacts with the press and utilizes the levers of power.

Written for “Trump Second Term Power Dynamics” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Second Term Power Dynamics
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6479 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Brian Flood
23 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Trump suggested that his veto power could force Democrats to come to the bargaining table.
🔮 It is something that Democrats have tried to do in races where they think it could be to their advantage to run candidates that could siphon votes away from Republicans, and Republicans do the same," Bash continued.
🔮 Some conservatives were hopeful that Apple News would pivot once new CEO John Ternus took control of the company, but a previous MRC study found that the news aggregator increased the percentage of stories from leftist outlets during his first month on the job.
🔮 The illegal alien claimed he was a HOMOSEXUAL in order to try and dodge deportation to Mali," ICE posted on X. Fox News exclusively obtained Diawara’s 2009 asylum application in which he declared that he needed to remain in America because he was a gay man who could be killed if sent back to his native country.
🔮 "The American people will pay the price for this move, as will the journalists of CBS News who can no longer credibly serve as watchdogs because the ones they are meant to hold to account are signing their paychecks and hobnobbing with the president," Rather wrote on his Substack page.
🔮 To exchange our vows in our home church where we got engaged, surrounded by our children, families and dearest friends, was more meaningful than we could have ever imagined.
🔮 God has blessed us in more ways than we could ever imagine, and I am so thankful that He brought Sean and me together.
🔮 "You’re not supposed to do stories that might make Democrats look bad."
🔮 " "She probably could have been better than Karine Jean-Pierre if she had more time to prepare.
🔮 Dilanian fretted that his FBI sources were concerned because they didn’t know why Patel was in Russia and suggested the trip would "raise a lot of eyebrows," in part due to his potential hosts being the FSB, Russia's security service.
Also by Brian Flood
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 23 articles by Brian Flood →

Topics

Atlantic N.Y. NEW YORK Perelman Performing Arts Center the White House

Subjects

Scherer PERSON · 7× Trump PERSON · 4× Lemire PERSON · 3× the White House ORG · 2× Ashley Parker PERSON · 1× Atlantic ORG · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Jonathan Lemire PERSON · 1× N.Y. GPE · 1× NEW YORK GPE · 1×

Narrative

Atlantic reporters Jonathan Lemire, Ashley Parker, Missy Ryan and Michael Scherer discussed what it’s like to cover the White House and other powerful institutions Thursday on stage during the magazine’s annual festival at Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City. "We’re seeing someone who completed, arguably, the greatest comeback in American political history, he trusts his instincts and very few others, and is sort of an unfettered version of himself," Lemire said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 Scherer agreed, noting that Trump came back with a much clearer idea about what he can accomplish and how it would impact his legacy. "

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

President Donald Trump is more comfortable on the job in his second term, according to a panel of journalists tasked with covering his every move. uncertain
Trump → accord → move
Atlantic reporters Jonathan Lemire, Ashley Parker, Missy Ryan and Michael Scherer discussed what it’s like to cover the White House and other powerful institutions Thursday on stage during the magazine’s annual festival at Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City. "We’re seeing someone who completed, arguably, the greatest comeback in American political history, he trusts his instincts and very few others, and is sort of an unfettered version of himself," Lemire said. asserted
Lemire → discuss → himself
Lemire said that Trump’s second administration is filled with "true believers" and "loyalists," while remnants of the "old Republican establishment" are long gone. asserted
remnants → say → establishment
"He also is just more comfortable with the job and how to use the levers of power," Lemire said. asserted
Lemire → use → power
"That also includes the relationship with the press and how he dictated change in terms of that relationship." asserted
he → include → relationship
Parker said the presence of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has helped, while Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller spent the four years out of power "plotting and planning" how to run a "bigger, stronger, faster, better, more ruthless" White House the second time around. asserted
Miller → say → House
Scherer agreed, noting that Trump came back with a much clearer idea about what he can accomplish and how it would impact his legacy. " asserted
it → agree → legacy
I was in Dallas last week when he did the midterm convention. asserted
he → do → convention
His message was, ‘Vote for me one more time,’" Scherer said. asserted
Scherer → vote → me
"There's sort of a different, almost nostalgic approach he's taking to things," he continued. asserted
he → be → things
"But it is really about like, ‘This is my last chance to do what I can to get to make my mark.’" asserted
I → get → mark
Ryan, who covers national security and foreign policy, isn’t thrilled that the Pentagon hasn’t held a formal press briefing for months, and staff writer Vivian Salama, who moderated the conversation, said it's harder for journalists to get scoops this time. asserted
journalists → cover → scoops
Scherer said the lack of leaks from inside the White House showed how it "operates as a unified body" under Wiles. asserted
it → say → Wiles
They're loyal to the president also, but it operates as a functioning organization," Scherer said. asserted
Scherer → operate → organization
They were often warring with each other and stabbing each other in the back and competing for the president," Scherer continued. asserted
Scherer → war → president
It's harder to get inside the room details than it was in the first term, but it can still be done. asserted
it → get → term
" While the second Trump administration has been tighter-lipped than the first administration, Scherer said that the Obama and Biden administrations operated like bureaucratic law firms. asserted
administrations → say → firms
"We still have more access here, I think, than we had in recent Democratic administrations, just because they had so much discipline. asserted
they → have → discipline
They had a different ethos about them," Scherer said. asserted
Scherer → have → them
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