Overview
- Jonathan Lemire of The Atlantic argues Trump appears to have entered a lame-duck phase less than a year into his second term.
- Republicans are openly defying the president as some in the party begin discussing 2028, with a close outside adviser warning that losing one’s party is the fastest route to lame-duck status.
- A new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein material surfaced on Tuesday with embarrassing revelations, renewing backlash that began when the administration declined to release the files in full earlier this year.
- Lemire reports the GOP has been battered in recent elections and that Trump’s poll numbers on the economy and immigration have slipped, heightening concern about the midterms.
- The analysis contrasts Trump’s early-term blitz of more than 140 executive actions with a recent focus on what it calls petty, self-aggrandizing projects.