Trump’s Week That Was: Back to Back to Back Bummers

By Sue Kientz

On September 14, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump had enough of the urgent warnings about AI that were delivered over the weekend, (1) announcing on Truth Social that he rejects any AI control as was suggested by OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs, due to the competition for AI dominance underway with China. The only “guardrails that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT,” he posted, referring to himself. (2)

Likely feeling he had “solved” that thorny problem by rejecting the request, he enjoyed only a brief spate of peace as that evening, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Trump Administration’s emergency request to implement restrictive rules proposed for the U.S. Postal Service to put into effect, that could potentially deny many voters their ability to use mail-in voting in the November 2026 midterm election. (3)

Still reeling from that disappointment, the very next day, September 15, the U.S. Senate failed to advance a Crypto bill (The Clarity Act), passed by the U.S. House last year, which would establish business rules designed by the Crypto industry and afford cryptocurrencies increased legitimacy. (4) Democrats in the Senate refused to agree to a vote unless specific language in the bill prevented federal lawmakers (like the president and other public servants) from making money via crypto schemes.

Fate was not finished with the president, as further chagrin came the day following the Senate rejection of the Crypto bill. On September 16, the U.S. Federal Reserve bank governors, including Trump’s hand-picked chairman, Kevin Warsh, voted unanimously to raise interest rates a quarter percent (.25%) to combat inflation. (5) If anything, Mr. Trump has repeatedly and vociferously lobbied for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, so to have them raised would be highly antithetical to his plans.

How did President Trump find himself with such a rotten run of luck? Astrologically, these failures coincided with the Sun (22 Virgo), beginning on September 14, square (90 degrees; a challenge or blocker to one’s wishes) Trump’s Sun (22 Gemini), (6) which even on September 16 was still lodged at that sensitive “square” spot (by the Fed Vote release, the Sun was about to leave 23 Virgo), and this definitely represents a bad (square) day or days (Sun, as it appears each day). Also in that period, Mercury moved from 7 Libra to 9 Libra, also square Trump’s Mercury (8 Cancer), a time when news (Mercury) is contrary to what you want to hear (one’s Mercury represents a person’s mind, thinking).

Mars also occupied a perilous place for the president early in the week. At 22-23 Cancer, Mars was conjunct (0-7 degrees separated; change, confrontation) Trump’s Saturn (23 Cancer), thus his planned policies and rules (Saturn: one’s work, ambition, reputation) were being kicked around and left in disarray (Mars: minor accidents, bumps, upsets, disappointment, failure, anger). Lastly, Venus (2-3 Scorpio) was generally not in a good spot, being conjunct dwarf planet Haumea (2 Scorpio), symbol of drastic change or upheaval in this case, although often big change leads to renewal and better outcomes in time, and square Pluto (3 Aquarius), a strong challenge to one’s power, control, and/or ability to enforce one’s will. (7) Especially regarding the Crypto bill failure and Fed Board interest rate increase, it’s all about money (Venus) being lost (Haumea) or, inconveniently, under someone else’s control (Pluto).

The most stinging situation for President Trump was likely the Crypto business-rules bill, as when that news broke, dwarf planet Makemake (11 Libra) was exactly to the minute semisquare (45 degrees; irritating, but if exact, highly irritating and dismaying) Trump’s natal Mars (26 Leo). He and his family have gone all-in on cryptocurrencies, and it would follow that more legitimacy for these ventures would be a top priority for the Trumps. Crypto coins and their shares were down after the news Tuesday, and the entire industry is now under a cloud that will not be lifted this year, perhaps not ever, if Democrats control the House after the 2026 midterm election.

Title Image credit: Story and issues described by author to ChatGPT, which generated the above Image.

Notes and References

1. Taheri, M., and H. Silverman, “Lawmakers Call for Government Intervention After AI Leaders Issue Warning,” 12 September 2026, Newsweek,  https://www.newsweek.com/lawmakers-call-for-government-intervention-after-ai-leaders-issue-warning-12435930
2. Trump, Donald J., “The only control or “guardrails” that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades! …,” 14 September 2026, 9:58 a.m. ET, Truth Social, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117269745153543631
3. Marimow, Ann E., “Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Restrictions on Voting by Mail,” 14 September 2026, 7:45 p.m. ET, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09/14/us/supreme-court-mail-voting-trump
4. Yaffe-Bellany, David, “Senate Votes to Block Crypto Bill in Major Blow to the Industry,” 15 September 2026, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/technology/senate-blocks-crypto-bill.html
5. “Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement,” 16 September 2026, 2 p.m., Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20260916a.htm
6. Trump, Donald J., 14 June 1946, 10:54 a.m., Queens, NY, Birth Cert., Astrodienst, https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Trump,_Donald  
7. Kientz, Sue, “Pluto and Haumea: Having Power, and Using that Power,” eNews newsletter of The National Council for Geocosmic Research, Inc. (NCGR), Issue 215, June 30, 2015
8. Kientz, S., “Watch out, it’s Makemake!,” the Makemake chapter from More Plutos that appeared in the Astrological Journal, Nov./Dec. 2014 issue; https://moreplutos.com/articles/Makemake-SueKientz_AstrologicalJournal-Nov-Dec2014.pdf

For astrological keywords and examples of historical figures for Haumea and Makemake, see “Dwarf Planet Basics,” Astrology News Service, 6 November 2024,  https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/dwarf-planet-basics/

For more details about the angles or relationships between planets, see Lynne Hyde’s “Astrology Basics,” 12 November 2024, ANS, https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/astrology-basics/