The admin is laying the groundwork to replace the president

Surrounding authoritarian leaders there is always an element of chaos. This can keep succession plans from happening because succession requires coordination.

However, in this case, it seems like there is a small group of people who are working together to lay the groundwork to replace the president.

Trump was a populist who was useful to people in that he could sway the MAGA crowd to turn out to vote in large numbers. But now that the administration is in office, and there is likely not going to be free and fair elections again, he is more of an obstacle to their goals.

Here are the signs of that:

1) The White House released health data suggesting Trump is infirm for the first time. This makes it easier for them to suggest a decline is happening, then a replacement.

2) Trump seems unaware of multiple Project 2025 initiatives around him, and when he finds out, he often later walks back the policies when he sees negative public opinion. This suggests he's not actually driving the policies, or the narrative.

3) The ongoing fervor surrounding the Epstein files is the perfect opportunity for members of the administration to leak damning information about Trump, which would allow them to throw him under the bus, while substituting in someone else who is morally "superior".

Essentially, the admin needed him as a front man, but that is rapidly changing as Trump loses favor, gets older and less coherent, and represents an obstacle to achieving the Project 2025 goals.

So, don't be surprised if you see a new player - or players, like JD Vance, Stephen Miller, Karoline Leavitt - start to push Trump aside, and make way for someone else.

Whoever that someone else is, they're much more likely to be more of a rigid ideologue who rules with an iron fist than Trump, who is self-obsessed, unoriginal, and primarily obsessed with image.