Image: watson/keystone
analysis
The US president is about to lose control of his party and his country.
Dec 9, 2025, 12:51 p.mDec 9, 2025, 1:47 p.m
Currently, no building in the Washington DC area is safe from him: the inconspicuous “Institute of Peace” has been renamed the grandiose-sounding “Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace”. The Kennedy Center, the largest cultural center in the capital, is to become the Trump Kennedy Center. Because the airport for domestic flights bears Ronald Reagan’s name, the counterpart for international flights, Dulles Airport, will in future be called Trump Airport.
Trump will celebrate his 80th birthday next June. He is at an age where people are seriously considering his legacy. That’s why it’s not enough for him to add a monstrous ballroom to the White House. Just as a dog pees on every street post, the president is frantically trying to put his name in all possible and impossible places.
The Trump couple at the award ceremony at the Kennedy Center.Image: keystone
He also knows that he is running out of time, and not just because his health problems are becoming more and more obvious. Like an aging lion, he begins to realize that his power is waning, and that Marjorie Taylor Greene is probably right when she explains on the show “60 Minutes” that many in the Grand Old Party (GOP) are also gossiping about him, or worse, making fun of him.
The signs of Trump’s decline in power are everywhere. The conservative hardliners in the House of Representatives definitely do not want to extend health insurance subsidies for two years, even though Trump has proposed exactly that. At the same time, his anointed Speaker, Mike Johnson, must fend off a midget uprising by GOP women. Even the most loyal Trump groupies are caught up in this insurrection.
Nancy Mace, a representative from South Carolina, writes in an op-ed in the New York Times: “Here is the truth that Republicans don’t want to hear. Nancy Pelosi (legendary Democratic Speaker) was more effective than any Republican this century. I didn’t agree with her on anything, but she understood what we don’t: there is no permanent majority. When the Democrats are in power, they push extremely progressive policies through Parliament. They deliver for the coalition they elected.”
For comparison: Mike Johnson sent MPs into compulsory vacation for two months to prevent a vote on the release of the Epstein files. Nevertheless, he had to give in in the end. And speaking of the Epstein files: They have currently been pushed into the background for a few weeks, but are by no means off the table yet. By law, the Ministry of Justice must release it before Christmas.
Rebels against the Speaker: MP Nancy Mace. Image: keystone
However, the focus at the moment is Defense Minister Pete Hegseth and his behavior in the Caribbean Sea. On September 2nd, the US military cold-bloodedly murdered two alleged drug smugglers who were completely helpless floating in the water, thereby violating international law and the laws of war as well as internal regulations.
The incident was documented. Senators on the relevant committee have seen the relevant videos and many of them were shocked. They therefore request that they be made available to the public. Trump initially agreed to this request, but has now backed away. But Congress is not letting up. A quarter of the defense minister’s travel expenses will be canceled if Hegseth continues to keep the videos under wraps.
The recently published strategy paper on national security has also been sharply criticized even by conservative circles. Only in Moscow and Beijing are people enjoying it, because the USA’s worst enemy is no longer China or Russia, but Europe, which is supposed to be sinking into decadence. “This strategy is full of contradictions,” comments the Wall Street Journal. “It offers a limited (and false) story of pre-Trump American decline while claiming that the US has the best economy in the world. It demands that we stand together against Chinese mercantilism while celebrating tariffs against US allies.
Dumber than the police allow: Defense Minister Pete Hegseth.Image: keystone
The “affordability” crisis is becoming the real Achilles heel for Trump. The president is caught up in his own lies. During the election campaign, he promised that he would “make America affordable again, on the first day I take office.”
However, after almost a year in the White House, this crisis has not been resolved. Yes, it threatens to get much worse, because on January 1, 2026, subsidies introduced due to the corona crisis will disappear and therefore health insurance premiums will explode for millions of Americans.
Trump, on the other hand, has not yet found a recipe, not even a “concept for a health plan”. That’s why he oscillates between statements that the “affordability” crisis is an invention of the Democrats and promises to solve it soon.
Customs policy is becoming a disaster
After all, Trump has already had to cancel some of his tariffs because of this crisis. Food such as coffee, bananas and beef can be imported duty-free again. At the same time, the president wants to help farmers with $12 billion. However, because the Chinese have drastically reduced their purchases of American soybeans, farmers are complaining about losses of between 35 and 43 billion dollars.
In general, Trump’s tariff policy is turning into a disaster. Not only are the promised jobs in industry missing, but around 50,000 jobs have been cut so far this year. Financially, the calculation doesn’t add up in any way. Trump actually wanted to use the tariff revenue to plug the still large hole in the state treasury. So far, however, only around $250 billion has been collected thanks to tariffs. However, the loss caused by the tax gifts is estimated at around 2.7 (German) trillion dollars. Calculate!
Americans have lost trust in Trump. According to a recently published survey by the New York Times, his approval ratings have fallen to a new low. The numbers are particularly bad when it comes to economic policy: approval was still at 43 percent in July – already not a good value – it has currently fallen to 36 percent.
Just embarrassing: the FIFA “Peace Prize”.Image: keystone
Charlie Chaplin once ridiculed Adolf Hitler with his slapstick parody. He didn’t have to change much at all. Dictators who lose their charisma are ridiculous – and anyone who saw FIFA’s embarrassing awarding of a “Peace Prize” to the US President will have easily recognized that Trump is well on his way to joining the ranks of these jokers.