For over a year I have been writing about why President Trump will fail in his objective to create a one-party autocracy in America and how Trumpism will fade and die.  Clearly nothing has changed as we approach the November midterm elections; almost every day Trump keeps giving me more reasons to write about his failures and the mortally wounded status of Trumpism.

What are the chances that Trump will remain as president after January 2029?  Very slim to none, according to his tanking approval ratings and his deteriorating physical/mental health, not to mention that the Constitution prohibits it.  The latest polls show he has a 33% approval rating, with indications that he is “hemorrhaging” the hardcore supporters that were a big factor in propelling him to victory in 2024.  As for Trumpism, that word does not appear in the articles I have been reading lately and I believe that Republicans will be loath to discuss it after Trump is gone.

In my January post this year, I offered one of the main reasons why Trump’s quest for an autocracy will fail: too many stupid decisions, too fast.  Then, he proved that point by launching an attack against Iran on February 28.  Reportedly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked him into this risky war, which he obviously commenced with very little thought about the consequences.  Now, almost six months later, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to most oil shipments, America’s status as a superpower is in question, and Trump is left cursing and threatening Iran from a kneeling position.  A late July CNN poll showed that 72% disapprove of his handling of the Iran situation.

Clearly, the fallout from Trump’s Iran war is wide and deep, which will no doubt be a heavy burden for Republican candidates in November.  One article I read claimed that MAGA is in “shambles” over it.  These ardent supporters believed Trump when he promised to avoid foreign entanglements and forever wars during the 2024 campaign.  Former Georgia Rep. Margorie Taylor Greene, a MAGA sweetheart, has been trashing Trump over his Iran fiasco for months and so have other prominent America Firsters.

Another article in the Bulwark observed that the war was “eating GOP’s midterm message alive.”  Republican candidates wanted to brag about how their 2025 tax cutting bill was creating jobs and putting money in people’s pockets.  Instead, they struggling to explain away the rising gas and grocery prices caused by the war.  How can Republicans claim that it was absolutely necessary because Iran was on the verge of having a nuclear weapon when Trump bragged that he had obliterated that capability with B-2 bombers in June last year?

A large block of Trump and Republican supporters reside in rural areas where farming is the backbone of the economy.  After Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, fertilizer supplies were cut and the prices shot up accordingly.  During spring planting season, 70% of farmers could not afford fertilizer, according to an Axios article that cited data from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

During harvesting season, which will begin this month and continue through November, the diesel fuel that powers most the large farm machines will likely remain at or above the August prices that are the highest in the past decade, according to AAA data.  Most Midwestern farms use around 3-5 gallons of fuel per acre of soybeans and 5-8 gallons per acre of corn, according to Drew Kientzy, a University of Missouri agricultural analyst quoted in an Axios article.  To make life more challenging for soybean farmers, Trump’s tariffs caused China to significantly decrease soybean imports, and prices for that crop cratered. 

Trump has reacted to soaring beef prices by promising in a Friday Truth Social post to import 300,000 metric tons of tariff-free beef over a 90-day period, which he claimed will be sold at 25% below market prices.  He blamed President Biden, of course, for the soaring beef prices and the decline of the U.S. herd.  The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, however, has attacked the move, according to a CNBC report, saying that, “Flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd.”

Doesn’t Trump know that America’s most farming-dependent counties overwhelmingly backed him in the 2024 election by an average of almost 78%, according to Investigate Midwest, an Illinois nonprofit organization.  Needless-to-say, a large number of Republican congresspersons hail from the rural areas of America and they are currently engaged in the most crucial period of campaigning for reelection.  In farming terms, they have a tough row to hoe. 😊

Still, I am deeply concerned about how Trump is savaging all that is great about America, its separation of powers, rule of law and status as an immigrant welcoming, democracy-supporting world power.  I worry about the national debt that has just raced passed $40 trillion and I fear that it may take decades to undo the damage that the Trump administration has done. 

In fact, I started to write about Trump’s reckless spending and the fact that he doesn’t care about huge deficits or how large the national debt gets.  But I decided to stay focused on the midterm elections because I believe they present an excellent opportunity for Democrats to take control of Congress and show the world that Americans are rejecting the Republican cowards and despot Trump.