08/07/2026
Shameful administration...
Donald Trump “has long been able to shrug off a bad headline and move on to the next news cycle, counting on his base to swallow his claims and never waver in their support,” Jonathan Lemire writes. “But that power appears to be fading.” https://theatln.tc/oPAhOCot
“Trump is undeniably in a bad spot. His poll numbers have tumbled, and Republicans are fearful that they will lose at least one chamber of Congress this November,” Lemire continues. “Lately, he has shown something else: an ability to be embarrassed. When that has happened, he has lashed out angrily—and has been willing to deploy the levers of government, and his compliant staff, to menace those he blames for his humiliation.”
The president has suffered a near-daily embarrassment at the hands of the hard-line leaders in Iran. “The war is not going well. A conflict that Trump thought might take a few weeks at most has now stretched into its sixth month, and, try as he might, he can’t get out of it,” Lemire continues. “He has declared victory many times and threatened to wipe Iran off the map nearly as often. Neither has happened. At this point, his unfulfilled threats—with Iran calling his bluff—have almost become a dark running gag.”
“He’s made the war deeply personal,” Lemire writes. “But how Trump will respond next to this ongoing embarrassment remains unknown.”
Read more at the link.
📸: Anna Moneymaker / Getty