As British PM Winston Churchill reputedly said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they’ve tried everything else.”  So, now that they have elected Donald Trump as president twice, I believe his second term will convince most voters that they do not want any more of what Trumpism imposes on them.  In fact, they are already experiencing the authoritarianism, chaos and uncertainty it delivers and no doubt more of that will continue for the remainder of his term.

For nine years of my legal career, I managed a group of lawyers who were defending our company against hundreds of lawsuits.  The experience of winning over 80% of those cases that were tried before a jury gave me confidence that Americans will make the right decisions if presented with the unvarnished evidence.  I believe these successes were the result of the Rules of Civil Procedure that were designed to prevent bogus or unsubstantiated evidence from being considered by jurors in making their decisions. 

Unfortunately, no such restrictions apply in politics or political campaigns, particularly in the past three presidential elections. 

Lies and gaslighting by Trump and his supporters, however, will not convince voters if they cannot show that Trumpism is the right course for America.  This is particularly true regarding inflation and the cost of living, which are paramount issues.  But Americans are concerned about more than just the economy.  Recent polls show that most of them want the rich to pay higher taxes, the social safety net to be strengthened, abortion to be legal in some or most cases and immigration to be promoted not suppressed.  In other words, Trumpism’s core policies are already not at all popular.

As usual, Republicans have cut income taxes again in 2025, mostly for the wealthy.  But Trump’s tariffs are imposing a much larger tax on businesses and consumers, which will cause higher inflation that will hurt lower to middle income Americans and retirees the most.  And while the tariffs are slowing the economy and jobs growth, Republican’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cause tens of thousands of Americans – many of them Trump voters – to lose health care insurance and food stamp benefits. 

Trump will be 82 in 2028 and his health, including mental health, does not appear to be all that good today.  It is likely that he will not be fit enough to campaign in 2028, even if he somehow gets around the two-term limit in the Constitution.  And it is likely that no one will want him to remain in office beyond this term, or maybe even this year. 

But what about Trumpism?   Will it survive his tenure?  Well, there are some very good reasons why I believe Trumpism’s days are numbered just like Trump’s second term.  Here are just a few of them:

Although the president promised to eliminate regulations, which most corporate leaders applauded, they are being replaced by his 200+ executive orders, his tariffs and his arbitrary dictates.  Consequently, corporate CEOs lack the degree of certainty they need to effectively plan for their businesses.  Worse yet, Trump is trying to become the unofficial co-CEO of many corporations and the government is taking part owner in some of them.  Trump appears to be copying China’s business model and corporate leaders are sure to oppose that.

Has Trump rolled back prices as he promised?  Well, no.  August inflation reports show how Trump’s tariffs are causing Americans to pay higher prices for groceries, clothing, shelter and utilities, as companies pass the cost of tariffs onto consumers.  “And this is only the beginning,” said Heather Long, chief economist for Navy Federal Credit Union. 

Is Trumpism creating jobs?  Not really.  The 263,000 Americans filing for unemployment benefits in early September is at the highest level since October 2021.

Are farmers prospering due to Trump’s tariffs?  Absolutely not.  Farming supports the entire economy of the rural heartland whose voters have strongly supported Trump.  Yet, in the current slowing economy, the tariffs may be hurting farmers the most, particularly the corn farmers and 500,000 soybean farmers, who expect a bumper crop this year.  As of early September, China, the largest single purchaser of American soybeans, had not placed even one order, according to the president of the American Soybean Association.  While Trump’s trade war with China has driven corn and soybean prices way down, his tariffs have significantly increased the prices of farm equipment and fertilizer.  Farmers are hurting.

What about manufacturing and construction jobs?  Well, they are shrinking in 2025.  The “goods-producing” sectors, including manufacturing and construction, have lost 67,000 jobs since April, and construction has shed jobs since May, according to Morgan Stanley economists.  And there were 78,000 fewer manufacturing jobs last month than in August 2024.  

Despite all these statistics, Trump is claiming there is no inflation and some administration officials will not even admit that businesses and consumers are paying for the tariffs.  They have taken gaslighting to an art form.

No political philosophy can retain support, however, when its advocates fail to produce what voters want and keep lying about obvious facts.  I believe time and negative results will catch up with Trump’s wrong-headed policies, his incompetent cabinet and his America First agenda that is leaving America isolated.  So, I seriously doubt that many Americans will want more of Trumpism when Trump is gone, even those who voted for him.