“How many of you would like to see impeachment hearings [of Donald Trump]?” a big conservative crowd was asked in Texas last weekend. It yelled in the affirmative. “No. That was the wrong answer,” said the Trump loyalist hosting the event. “Let’s try it again.” The third time, after he rephrased, they dutifully agreed. It seemed the Maga gathering may have been afflicted by confused English rather than a sudden turn against Trump. The same is not true of wider America, which is undergoing prolonged buyer’s remorse.
Not all of Trump’s slide stems from Iran. Months before he embarked on his Gulf war of choice, his poll numbers were heading south. Iran is only the latest — though most dramatic — example of Trump’s increasingly volatile switch from the home stage to the world’s (and from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids to missile strikes). Venezuela consumed the first few days of the year. Only after he climbed down from annexing Greenland did Trump build up the US armada in the Middle East.
It would be fair to surmise that Trump’s domestic advisers are tearing their hair out. During Trump’s first term, “infrastructure week” became a recurring joke; every time the White House announced it, Trump would steal his own thunder by doing something unrelated. Trump’s “affordability” drive plays the same role in his second term. Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, keeps scheduling events in which he can talk about his plans to lower the cost of living. But the Iran war keeps making a nonsense of her efforts.