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Could there really have been any other ending for Trump? A man whose constant companions have been failure and scandal for his entire adult life has now seen both of his defining traits combine together in spectacular fashion within six months of returning back to the White House.
Donald Trump never had a superpower. The idea that he was some sort of political superhero who could defy political gravity was a myth that was started by the mainstream media and was embraced by Donald Trump.
Donald Trump’s power is derived from the protection that Republicans in Congress have given him. This dates back to Trump’s first term in office. Remember, two Trump impeachments failed because Republicans in the Senate refused to convict him.
Trump’s other power came from the media. Why did the media build up Trump so much and treat him the way that no other president gets treated, a.k.a. the Trump rules, as MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell has called them?
The answer is money. During Trump’s first term in office, he made corporate media relevant again while making them lots and lots of money. That money led the media to push for Trump to win the 2024 election, only to see TV ratings fall, website traffic plummet, and Trump-related books flop. Everything that worked in the first term is failing in the second.
Trump’s fall makes sense because he is a two-term president, and presidents not named Bill Clinton always lose popularity in their second term. The media thought that they could relive their Trump good old days, but the American people have not played along.
The polling is an absolute disaster. Trump is three points away from the worst job approval rating of his first term. He has a negative approval rating on every issue in the Gallup poll, and the Big Beautiful Bill appears to be an anchor around the necks of Republicans.
If Trump continues on his current trajectory, Democrats will at minimum take back the House majority, and this will be the end of the line for relevancy and his presidency.
Trump could spend his final two years in the White House as his de facto retirement home, as the nation’s attention turns to the 2028 election.
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