The truth of Trump’s terrible November? His weapons are losing their potency
If you’re having a hard time getting through the end of the year under the weight of problems and pressures, keep US President Donald Trump in mind. November has already been so bad that he may have to keep the traditional turkey pardon to himself come Thanksgiving.
Trump’s troubles started a few weeks ago when something strange started happening: the tried-and-true methods he used to get his way suddenly stopped working. Like the United States’ aging nuclear arsenal, Trump’s weapons of choice: insults, strong-arm tactics, demands for absolute loyalty, diversion, and legal sanctions have begun to lose their power. This could be a temporary glitch, or it could be the first glimpse of the rest of Trump’s lame term.
US President Donald Trump discusses the investment agreement with Saudi Arabia at the White House on Tuesday. Credit: access point
It is Trump’s trademark to use derogatory nicknames for his opponents, such as Crooked Hillary and Sleepy Joe. Naturally, when a MAGA civil war broke out last week over the release of the Epstein files, Trump took to social media to smear ally-turned-critic Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, writing: “Marjorie Taylor Brown (Green grass turns brown when it starts to ROT!)” Jokes requiring Cliff Notes rarely work, and the clunky insult was widely mocked rather than gaining traction.
Things got much worse when Trump tried again, this time insulting her as “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Green” (sic). Rather than subdue Greene, Taylor held a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, flanked by Epstein’s victims. “Let me tell you what a traitor is,” Taylor Greene said. “A traitor is an American who serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American who serves the United States and Americans…”
The woman who represents the most extreme wing of MAGA is now claiming that the US president is a traitor to her country and her supporters. This narrative is floating around right now, and it’s being pushed not by Democrats but by someone with the trust of MAGA die-hards. It shows the rift that has widened between Trump and the MAGA faithful over the Epstein files.
Last Friday, Trump’s insult gun was fired again. Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey asked him a question about his opposition at the time to the release of the Epstein files. She points her finger at him and says, “Be quiet, piggy!” he warned. Trump, often praised for his political instincts, apparently forgot that he was answering a question about the abysmal treatment of women by powerful American men.
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What Trump wanted at that moment was to shut down the debate around his alleged knowledge of and possible involvement in Epstein’s long history of degrading women. What he accomplished instead was to remind everyone that he has a long history of publicly humiliating women.
The Epstein files were also behind the failure of Trump’s strong-arm tactics last week. The habeas corpus petition mandating a vote on releasing the Epstein files required 218 signatures. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (another far-right figure like Taylor Greene) was called into the Situation Room to pressure her to remove her signature from the petition. Boebert refused and became another prominent MAGA figure who prioritized her loyalty to MAGA over Trump. Trump has always wielded the demand for loyalty from every subject in his orbit like the fearsome sword of Damocles, but the sword now looks like it needs to be sharpened.
