The president also offered Canada and Mexico partial reprieve from his tariffs not long after imposing them on the two major trading partners. 

It remains to be seen whether either move reflects a larger shift in Trump’s strategy or are merely brief tactical retreats.

But Democrats have been counting on a public backlash against the DOGE cuts and tariffs to sap Trump’s support and end what has, at least according to some polls, been a relative honeymoon for him to start his second term.

Public discontent with high prices after inflation hit a 40-year high under former President Joe Biden was a major factor in Trump’s victory late last year. Trump campaigned on DOGE and some measure of fiscal discipline but has never been much of a government-cutter, and the Musk-led task force has consumed more political oxygen since Jan. 20 than it ever did during the campaign.

Trump inherited a soft but growing economy from Biden, with Democrats increasingly willing to call out economic weaknesses now that Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris are gone.

But if Musk’s role in the Trump administration is to be more advisory and the tariffs are to be employed mainly as a negotiating tool, perhaps a reversal in political fortunes can be avoided. 

Trump appeared to acknowledge on Thursday that DOGE was moving too fast, just days after praising its government-cutting handiwork during his speech to a joint session of Congress.

“We just had a meeting with most of the secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one,” he wrote on Truth Social. “It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people.”

Trump also clarified, “We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet.’” He emphasized that there would be a collaborative process between Musk and the Cabinet secretaries, saying of the latter that as they “learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go.”

Musk has also conceded to lawmakers and Cabinet members that DOGE has made mistakes.

While Trump concentrated on the parts of his agenda that are broadly popular during his Tuesday night speech as most Democrats refused to clap for the mothers of murder victims and a young cancer survivor, his opponents have labeled him a chaos agent through his decade in national politics.

There was a growing perception that Musk was being too arbitrary in his federal personnel decisions and that Trump was giving his fellow billionaire too free a hand in government decision-making, even as polls show general support for curtailing wasteful spending.

Republican lawmakers have reported protests and other examples of anti-DOGE sentiment at their local townhall meetings, to the point where the chief of the House GOP’s campaign arm advised members to avoid such events. Even if the protests are organized by left-wing groups and not always reflective of local opinion, it could be a sign of liberal anger and passion that could carry over into the midterm elections.

Trump’s commitment to tariffs is deeper and has a much longer history than his devotion to DOGE-like budget cuts, but he has also shown sensitivity to drops in the stock market and business community confidence. He campaigned heavily on having delivered low unemployment, respectable economic growth, and no Biden-like inflation during his first term until the pandemic rocked the country in 2020.

It is possible that neither Trump move is a major departure from his agenda. Previous instances of tariff relief have been short-lived. On Musk, Trump may only be trying to fortify DOGE against legal challenges.

There is also a chance that Trump’s wild swings will exhaust voters and damage the economy. He can be unpredictable, not always to his own benefit.

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But Trump can also be pragmatic. The midterm elections take place next year. Virginia, which is home to many federal workers, will have statewide elections this November. After a four-year hiatus from the White House, this is Trump’s legacy term.

Trump has moved quickly since returning to office. But he also has a better staff than he did at this point in his first term, which has made the burst of energy more disciplined. Democrats don’t believe that dynamic can last. Time, and Trump, will tell.