President Trump has been counted down and out before. I recall dismissing his 2016 candidacy when he rode down the golden escalator at Trump Tower and included a racist rant in his speech. I thought the Billy Bush tape–the “grab them by the p*ssy” comment–would seal his doom. And then there were the sexual assault, tax evasion, fraud convictions, and Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump is not like a cat—he doesn’t have nine lives—but he may have a few dozen. Nothing, it has seemed, has been able to derail him. And efforts to hold him accountable, things like impeaching him twice, have arguably backfired, creating sympathy for him rather than condemnation.
Scroll forward to May 2026 and picture yourself at a gas station. If you are like me, you wonder, was the war in Iran necessary? And then think about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey for writing “86 47” in the sand with seashells. And, just this past Monday, think about Trump’s praise for the now hospitalized Rudy Guiliani. Trump attributed Guiliani’s hospitalization to the people who held him accountable for efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.
I’m finding that more and more people are saying, “I’ve had enough,” and are concluding that Trump should be 86’d. (Please note, the reference to 86, for most people familiar with the term, is not a call for murder, but rather a call to remove troublesome people from places where they are causing trouble.)
Trump, and with him his increasingly confused band of followers—the people in the red baseball caps—seem lost in the woods with no map. Trump is asked a question about the War in Iran and talks about Ukraine or, amazingly, the 90,000 square foot ballroom that every President has demanded and is essential to our national security. Trump also has been falling asleep at meetings. And Trump had a gold statue of himself made and placed outside the Doral Golf Club that he owns and where he held a PGA golf tournament.
People at gas stations, in grocery stores, or just watching the news are wondering, “What the hell is he doing?” Asking the question “Is Trump insane” no longer is dismissed with disdain, but now receives a serious answer, usually one referencing mental decline, rampant corruption, and incompetence.
What should we make of the War in Iran, the end of which seems nowhere in sight? Did Trump know what he was doing when he authorized it? Was Bibi leading Trump around by the nose? Or was Trump so drunk on the so-called “triumph” in Venezuela that a win in Iran, a country of 90 million people, seemed easy?
Now we are seeing Trump in retreat. He’s angry at Germany, so he’s withdrawing 5,000 troops, further weaking NATO. He’s effectively led Canada to rethink its long and productive relationship with the U.S. in favor of stronger ties with Europe. The Europeans, Ottawa is finding, are easier to deal with than Trump.
I think MAGA is imploding, but Trump has fooled me before. His reign will not be over until it is over and his term in office still has more than two and half years to run. And I’m sorry to say, Democrats, if they aren’t careful, can deliver voters reasons to vote Republican this November on a silver platter (or, more appropriately, on a gold one).
Trump has become his own worst enemy. His downfall, if that is what we are seeing, seems to derive from a distorted view of history suggesting that a strong President “willing to break a few eggs” will be seen as an inspired leader. Trump also seems to believe that things like the ballroom, the proposed “Trump Arch,” and renaming buildings and institutions after himself will convince the public that we have another Lincoln at the helm.
The American people are proving to be smarter than Trump gives them credit for. Polls suggest that we have had enough and are ready to vote the bums out. Let’s hope that happens. But it won’t happen, of course, unless people speak up and, more importantly, vote.
Trump is not going to have an “aha” moment and realize he is nuts. People must tell him that. That is why Democracy has never been more important than it is today, today being the Age of Trump.
