Donald Trump has lost control
For a decade we’ve heard terms like “authoritarian” and “ironclad grip” thrown around about Donald Trump. It’s certainly what he’s always aspired to. But while we never have been quite able to make him go away, the one trait he’s consistently displayed over the past ten years is weakness. That weakness has taken a sharp turn over the past week – to the point that he’s losing control altogether.
It’s not just one thing that’s gone wrong. First Trump lost control of the military in Los Angeles narrative when his regime tackled a United States Senator for daring to try to ask a question in a press conference. Suddenly it stopped being a matter of whether the general public believed Trump’s lie that there was systemic violence in Los Angeles, and became a matter of Trump and his regime coming off like the explicitly violent ones.
Then came this week’s targeted airstrike by Israel against Iran. It ended up being a scary non-event on the world stage as far as anyone can tell. But it’s notable in that by all accounts, Trump tried really hard to stop it from happening. As it turns out, even Trump’s indebted pal Netanyahu sees no need to listen to him anymore. And so as it stands, because of just how weak Trump is, key U.S. allies ranging from Israel to Canada are pretty much just ignoring the President of the United States.
Talk about losing control. Trump has lost control of the domestic narrative and he’s lost control of the world stage. He’s a weakling and a joke on every level. His base may well never see it, but that doesn’t matter. Trump can’t draw any political muscle from his base alone. Polling suggests that millions of people outside of Trump’s base who reluctantly voted for him in November (or stayed home) have now firmly turned against him. That’s a recipe for Trump becoming even weaker. Trump being weak doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous. He’s very much dangerous. But let’s not lose sight of just how weak he’s become.
