As oil prices surged to four-year highs and his approval ratings sank to new lows, Donald Trump found some comfort on Wednesday by hosting the astronauts of the Artemis II in the Oval Office. “These incredible people behind me, where they get their bravery, I have no idea,” the U.S. president said of the crew that ventured to the far side of the Moon. “We have the hottest country in the world.”
But Trump’s attempts to project swagger 16 months after he launched his second term with a vow to deliver a “golden age” for America are increasingly falling flat. The 79-year-old president is being weighed down by an unpopular war in Iran that has triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices, a double hit to his two campaign promises of no foreign military interventions and a cure for inflation.
Mounting Problems for the Administration
Meanwhile, he has launched attacks on Pope Leo XIV, cast himself as a religious figure on social media and fired his third cabinet member and the secretary of the navy, raising additional fears of chaos and drift within the administration. “We’re watching the unravelling of Trump’s second term before our very eyes,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University, saying the U.S. president was haemorrhaging critical parts of the political coalition that drove him to victory in 2024 amid disenchantment with his performance.
Americans were increasingly questioning: “Who really is Donald Trump? And do we need this showman anymore?” Brinkley added.
Political Missteps and Public Discontent
Even after he earned sympathy in the wake of another assassination attempt last weekend, Trump used the event to tout the need for his giant White House ballroom construction plan — a US$400 million project that has scant backing from Americans. “He does these outrageous headline-grabbing, attention-grabbing, content-driven things, but when we turn back to the economic numbers, they’re just not better,” said one former Trump administration official close to the White House. “They need to find a positive pivot and they just don’t have that right now.”
Trump’s aides have continued to project confidence in his leadership and the merits of his policies. But some Republicans fear the president has become detached from the concerns of ordinary Americans and there is no one to stop him from making basic political mistakes. “In Trump one, the staff really tried to prevent these own goals, but in Trump two it almost seems like they’re helping with these own goals,” said one former Trump administration official who is still close to the White House.
Grim Polling Ahead of Midterms
Recent polling has been grim for Trump. According to the RealClearPolitics national average, just 41 per cent of Americans approve of his performance in office, compared to 57 per cent who disapprove, a yawning 16-point gap that bodes poorly for Republican prospects in the midterm elections.
