Donald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to “annihilate” Iran.
asserted
Trump → stand → Iran
Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay.
asserted
he → flex → bay
Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him.
asserted
judge → head → him
“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” the 80-year-old snapped.
asserted
old → ’m → me
“You should not be here covering me.”
asserted
You → cover → me
The lashing-out was a reminder that even Trump, who has expanded executive power and dominated the national consciousness, finds some things beyond his control.
asserted
who → expand → control
Federal courts are reining him in.
asserted
courts → rein → him
Congressional Republicans are straying from the script.
asserted
Republicans → stray → script
Poll numbers are tumbling to historic depths, driven by persistent inflation, rising fuel costs and an increasingly unpopular war in Iran.
asserted
numbers → tumble → Iran
For the first time since his improbable political resurrection, Trump’s aura of authority is fading.
asserted
aura → fade → authority
Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican strategist, prophesied: “This is the beginning of the end.
asserted
This → prophesy → end
As powerful and transgressive as he’s been, the country does not have a positive outlook right now.
asserted
country → have → outlook
In fact, the negativity and pessimism among voters has reached a point that is unparalleled since Jimmy Carter.”
asserted
that → reach → Carter
Trump’s self-belief never wavers.
asserted
belief → waver → ?
He faced four criminal cases and two assassination attempts before winning the 2024 election.
asserted
He → face → election
He has lived by a mantra of “it will all work out well in the end” while his supporters wear hats that state: “Trump was right about everything.”
asserted
Trump → live → everything
Yet he has had a rough month.
asserted
he → have → month
The Federal Reserve defied him on interest rates.
asserted
Reserve → defy → rates
The supreme court blocked his administration’s attempt to impose new restrictions on mail-in ballots for November’s midterm elections.
asserted
court → block → elections
One judge prevented him adding his name to the Kennedy Center, prompting him to threaten the national arts complex with demolition; another judge blocked his ban on three news outlets from the White House grounds, ordering the administration to “immediately return, reinstate and restore” their access.
asserted
judge → prevent → access
Now even Trump’s dependable power base, the Republican party, is showing cracks amid fears that he will cost them seats in November.
asserted
he → show → November
In Florida, his home state, gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds quietly scrubbed most Trump references from his campaign website, while the congresswoman María Elvira Salazar ran campaign advertisements openly declaring that federal immigration enforcement had gone “too far” and asserting that Latino voters “feel betrayed”.
asserted
voters → scrub → advertisements
Wilson, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group, sees a herd mentality among congressional Republicans and compares the current mood to a wildlife documentary.
asserted
Wilson → see → documentary
“It needs a David Attenborough voiceover,” he said.
asserted
he → need → voiceover
“It’s like the gazelles wandering the savannah.
asserted
gazelles → ’ → savannah
They’re sniffing the wind now and they smell something in the wind.
asserted
they → sniff → wind
They know it’s a predator but they don’t know what to do about it yet.
asserted
they → know → it
What they haven’t realised is that the predator has been among them all along.
asserted
predator → realise → them
The risk factor that they face now is Trump.
asserted
they → face → that
For nearly a decade, elected Republicans maintained a posture of submission, fearful of drawing a primary challenger or a scathing post on Truth Social.
asserted
Republicans → elect → Social
But with the elections looming and control of Congress hanging in the balance, self-preservation is rapidly overriding loyalty to the president.
asserted
preservation → loom → president
Wilson said: “Now it’s reached the point where the magic doesn’t work any more.
asserted
magic → say → point
There’s no political upside from a president who is at 29% approval rating in some polls, has presided over a disastrous war, and has ended up raising energy prices and food prices – all the things that they can’t spin away.
asserted
they → ’ → that
“The voters now have very much put that together.
asserted
voters → put → that
They associate the war with Trump.
asserted
They → associate → Trump
They associate the gas prices with Trump.
asserted
They → associate → Trump
They associate the grocery prices with Trump.”
asserted
They → associate → Trump
This creates a vicious circle, Wilson argues.
asserted
Wilson → create → circle
“The more he becomes a liability, the more he acts out.
asserted
he → become → ?
The more he demands loyalty from people and doesn’t get it, the more he demands loyalty from people and doesn’t get it.
asserted
he → demand → it
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
