Brace yourself. A desperate man is a dangerous man – especially when his name is Donald Trump and his popularity is sliding due to self-inflicted wounds.
Although we are not yet halfway through his catastrophic second term as President of the United States, the past few days indicate the worst may be yet to come as his dismal reign crumbles and his hold on power is challenged.
Prepare for fresh depravities as this arrogant, corrupt and stunningly inept character delves deeper into the darkness engulfing his country – cheered on by his dwindling army of fans and his team of sordid sycophants as he shreds decency, democracy and his nation’s dignity.
For there is a thread that connects the grotesque decision to livestream a federal execution by army firing squad – placing the US on a par with hideous regimes in Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea – with Trump’s latest pandering to Vladimir Putin, freeing up the diesel that helps fund Russia’s war machine and then launching another disgusting attack on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Of course, they demean the US and undermine democracy a bit further. But the backdrop is the Republicans’ struggle to cling on to power in Washington. So hey, why would Trump be bothered if he plays into the hands of an Islamist death cult or if hundreds more Ukrainians die in their fight for freedom if he can boost his poll ratings a little?
Trump’s approval rating has hit a record low. His party looks set to lose control of the House of Representatives and, possibly, the Senate in elections on November 3, giving Democrats power to block appointments, control committees, impeach the President and hamper his agenda. Yes, predictions often prove wrong in this age of angry populism.
Yet, as I have heard reporting on the ground in recent days, such is the scale of concern over their government that the President’s party might even lose a statewide election in Texas for the first time in 32 years. And this is due to disenchantment, not simply shifting demographics.
The horror show of a public execution championed by Pete Hegseth, the “Secretary of War”, is classic culture war chaff – a diversionary tactic designed to stir up ferocious debate to dominate airwaves while shoring up their base.
Yet, the day after it was announced, I talked at the Texas state fair to a black former marine and one-time Trump voter who bemoaned Hegseth’s attacks on diversity for driving out good military officers while his middle-aged partner expressed her dismay at seeing their nation shed friends around the world. Trump has visited this state four times in six weeks. The Democrats remain marginally ahead in polls, however – with one top activist in a supposed Republican stronghold telling me she saw it as “a badge of honour” that they panicked their President into campaigning on her patch.
Then, there is the affordability issue, so decisive in Trump’s return to power. I heard repeatedly from voters about concern over soaring egg prices on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania two years ago; the issue came to symbolise inflation, with restaurants even imposing surcharges on egg-based dishes.
Almost two-thirds of Republican voters saw the cost of living and economy as their key issue. Now, the core concern is energy costs. “Gas prices have gone wild,” said one teacher and mother of three in California, complaining about the struggles facing middle-class families. It is even worse for farmers, hauliers and taxi drivers, costing jobs. The national bill is rising $720m a day – with sprawling Texas hit hardest. And the cause, of course, is Trump’s foolish launch of a floundering Middle East war that drove up fuel prices to record levels while exposing America’s weakness to the world.
Trump turned on Ukraine in hope some voters blame this brave nation for their financial woes. The deal to release Russian diesel does almost nothing for US consumers since the initial supply amounts to less than one day’s usage – but it helps Putin and is another sickening betrayal of Ukraine, already suffering agonies due to critical lack of air defences while preparing for a gruesome winter under attack. Zelensky was right to criticise it, sparking White House calls for his removal.
Washington, however, is even threatening to cut off the shared intelligence Kyiv uses to defend itself with such tenacity if Zelensky does not terminate their successful campaign of strikes on Moscow’s refineries. As the US blatantly assists the Kremlin and sells out democracy, it becomes even more crucial that Europe steps up the fight to protect our continent.
Senior Democrats speculated to me that their rivals seem more rattled, flailing around for fresh fights, because they won key battles on abortion and immigration. The Latino vote helped carry Trump to the White House but polls suggest living costs and brutal immigration raids are repulsing significant numbers.
At a breakfast event in Fort Worth hosted by the nation’s oldest Hispanic civil rights organisation, I heard deep anger. One woman told me her brother-in-law was deported after being shopped by a man to avoid paying his roofing bill. A tearful mother begged for help over a notorious case: her son was jailed for 30 years on grounds of concealing evidence after transporting anti-fascist literature following the non-fatal shooting of a police officer at a protest. Healthcare cuts, data centres, even the spread of surveillance cameras, also seem to be stirring voters.
Perhaps most frightening is fear that the barbaric livestreaming of an execution and trading in bloodstained Russian diesel are portents for the next two years, as an ageing, wounded sociopath in the White House grows even more desperate as his ego is punctured, his enemies circle and his power drains.
Who knows what cruelties and monstrosities Trump and his pitiful team will dream up next? “What though the field be lost? / All is not lost; the unconquerable will, / And study of revenge, immortal hate, / And courage never to submit or yield,” as Satan said in Milton’s Paradise Lost, turning to vengeance in deluded refusal to accept defeat.