“I’m not joking…there are methods (by) which you could do it.”- President Trump to NBC regarding a third term, prohibited by the Constitution.
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | President Trump was elected with less than 50 percent of the popular vote. However, Trump has convinced himself that he was elected in a landslide and somehow has a “mandate.” Therefore, Trump has decided that he can and will be a King. And that he is entitled to rule forever more, regardless of the Constitution.
Accordingly, he is doing whatever he wants, ignoring the federal courts as well as the views of American taxpayers. However, as his disregard for our political norms and his failure to control Musk’s chainsaw becomes more and more evident, he is rapidly losing support. This is not only among minorities, but also with the unaligned, non-partisan, independent white voters who elected him.
In 2024, Trump was able to sway certain demographics, like Hispanic and black men, that were traditional Democratic constituencies. That was surprising, but predictable due to inflation and chauvinism in these cultures. However, he was still elected primarily by white Christian Americans, particularly men.
However, since then virtually every poll has Trump down considerably. For example, let’s examine the April Pew Research poll. Pew has Trump with an overall approval rating of only 40 percent. Even fewer agree with his tariffs policy (39 percent). Over half of Americans (51 percent) believe he is undercutting the balance of powers by using too many Executive Orders.
However, he is still popular within the GOP, his base, 75 percent of whom approve of his job performance. And nearly as many agree with his tariffs (70 percent). So, he is losing support overall, while his base (white men) cheer him on.
Trump views himself as a monarch who can do whatever he wishes to do with no controls. However, he is also the most narcissistic human beings on the planet. He absolutely loves himself. Trump wants everyone else to bow down but love him as well. And that is not happening outside of his base of white men.
Further, with the potential reductions to entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that are being discussed, Trump’s approval rate is bound to go down even further.
The stock market is already teetering on correction territory due to the tariff issue. Plus, the inflation rate will jump dramatically once the tariff increases hit. And unemployment will rise.
It gets even more complicated. In his second term, Trump has purposefully surrounded himself with “yes men”. None of them will tell him that he is on the wrong path and that the general public is rapidly deserting him.
Over time, I suspect that Trump will see that he is headed for disaster. My prediction is that when he realizes this fact, he will place the blame on others. Of course, Joe Biden was, and still is, responsible for every cloudy day.
But when that does not work, and I do not believe the public will fall for that ridiculous ruse, Trump will look around for other fall guys to blame. Elon Musk will suddenly become a leper, exiled from the White House. DOGE ‘s excesses will be denounced as solely his fault. Speaker Johnson will no longer have Trump’s support and be removed as speaker. And there will be a long list of other easy targets, like Secretary of Defense Hegseth.
Fasten your seatbelts. We are in for a rough ride.
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