It’s never wise to declare Trump dead, politically. Somehow he always manages to slither back into a place of power and protection. But this time, with midterms around the corner, it feels different. This time, it feels like it might be the end.
Walls
closing in on Trump
The rules — of law, of political gravity, of general
decency — just don’t seem to apply to him. But it feels like it’s finally true:
this might just be the beginning of the end for Trump.
By S.
E. Cupp
Dec
4, 2025, 6:00am CST
Over
years and years of covering politics, the last decade of which has been spent
covering Donald Trump specifically, I’ve learned you can never really count him
out.
It’s
been a painful, exhausting, and deeply disappointing lesson but an important
one nonetheless. He keeps on keeping on. The things I find disturbing,
revolting and utterly disqualifying are inexplicably the same exact things that
a not small number of Americans find appealing. Racism, incompetence,
corruption, to name a few.
The
things that would end any other politician’s career for good seem to have the
opposite effect on his — instead of diminishing his power they only seem to
embolden him. An impeachment, an insurrection, a criminal conviction, to name a
few.
It’s
been said many times, but the rules — of law, of political gravity, of general
decency — just don’t seem to apply to him, and he’s taken extreme advantage of
this phenomenon. And moreover, he seems to delight in his invincibility,
flaunting the double standards and hypocrisy of one set of rules for him and
another for everyone else, almost taunting his opponents to try getting away
with what only he can.
So I almost never say what I’m about to say, because I’ve
lived this exhausting reality for so long. But it feels like it’s finally true:
this might just be the beginning of the end for Trump.
To be
clear, this isn’t mere wishful thinking — though, for the good of the country I
very much want to be rid of Trump and Trumpism once and for all.
It’s
based on the inarguable reality of what we’re all witnessing — the walls are
closing in on him.
Let’s
take the polls to start.
A
brutal new poll from Gallup has
Trump’s approval in the gutter — he’s at -24%, down from -1% in January. Only
Richard Nixon had a worse approval at this point in his second term, and he
never recovered. Many other polls show similar, or even worse news for Trump’s
standing among the electorate, where support from independents, Gen Z and
Hispanics has eroded significantly since
his reelection. He’s even losing support among his base.
Then,
there’s his economy. The signature pitch he made to voters was that he’d end
inflation and make housing, energy and consumer goods more affordable. Thanks
to tariffs, Department of Government Efficiency cuts, profligate spending and
incompetence, Trump’s exploded the national debt and deficit, inflation has
risen since January, unemployment is also up, consumers are seeing higher, not
lower, prices at the grocery store, small businesses are seeing increased costs
of operating and more Americans believe Trump
has been worse for the economy, not better.
Then
there’s his personnel. Trump has been fending off serious issues of
incompetence inside his administration since Day One. His secretary of defense
is being accused of war crimes. His head of the FBI is rumored to be on the
chopping block. His attorney general is routinely mocked for her
ineffectuality. Scientists from nearly every field of study have called for his
head of health and human services to be replaced. His homeland security
secretary may be prosecuted for contempt.
Then
there’s his party. One-time staunch allies like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene,
R-Ga., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., are ignoring his threats and breaking with him
on issues of America First, Jeffrey Epstein, and the shutdown. At least five
Republicans have announced they are retiring or will not seek reelection. GOP
senators ignored Trump’s
urging to end the filibuster and state lawmakers have rejected his
redistricting efforts.
Finally,
there are his media surrogates. Top MAGA influencers, who mainly reach Trump
voters on YouTube and other platforms, are intentionally alienating the normies
in the center-right by elevating neo-Nazis, excusing pedophilia and engaging in
some truly bizarre conspiracy theories.
But
the biggest red flag that not all is well in Trump world? Trump himself. Monday
night, Trump flooded Truth Social with more than 160 posts in five hours — an
unhinged mix of high and low, from posting his cameo in “Home Alone 2" to
demanding disgraced Colorado election official Tina Peters be released from
prison.
It was
a disturbing look at someone who’s clearly lost control — of his presidency, of
his party, of his messaging. Flooding the zone with utter nonsense to distract
us all from his obvious failures is seemingly all he has left.
Again,
it’s never wise to declare Trump dead, politically. Somehow he always manages
to slither back into a place of power and protection. But this time, with
midterms around the corner, it feels different. This time, it feels like it
might be the end.
S.E.
Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.
