Recommendations of the Editorial team
Donald Trump is in trouble right now. The cost of living crisis is pushing his approval ratings into the basement, the concert for the 250th anniversary of American independence is threatening to collapse, and the war against Iran continues – although the president repeatedly asserts that an agreement to end the conflict is imminent.
This is clearly not the case. Iran is said to have suspended talks with the US on Monday. “I really don’t care, I couldn’t be less interested,” Trump responded, adding that he now finds the negotiations “very boring.”
How Trump personally processes all of this remains unclear. On the one hand, he seems to genuinely, genuinely not care. On the other hand – well, just scroll through his Truth Social account: over the weekend he unleashed a volley of attacks against his supposed enemies, especially Joe Biden, garnished with an impressive collection of self-congratulatory AI crap. Among them: pictures of himself carved into Mount Rushmore, as a naval commander in gold-plated armor at the head of a fleet – and as a member of the New York Knicks, ousting New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Bigger than Elvis
Trump also announced he was considering replacing the anniversary concert with a speech, describing himself as bigger than Elvis. “I just want to be surrounded by happy people, smart people, successful people and people who know how to WIN,” the president wrote. In another post, he attacked the artists who dropped out of the concert and called for the event to be canceled altogether: “Cancellation, just like I canceled my engagement with the failed and unsafe Kennedy Center because a highly biased, corrupt federal judge said I couldn’t use my time and money to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN – yes, even greater than ever!”
Business, foreign policy and the other dull aspects of the presidency may be tiresome – Trump seeks refuge in his various vanity projects around Washington, D.C. His efforts to take over the Kennedy Center are up in the air, but there’s still the Reflecting Pool, the Arc de Triomphe, the UFC cage being built on the South Lawn, and the lavish ballroom being built on the former East Wing site of the White House. Trump also posted plenty about this, including an AI image of the alleged “drone port” on the roof of the ballroom. (Trump claims the ballroom will serve as some kind of military installation – apparently to support the legal argument that a significant portion of the White House can be demolished and replaced with a lavish event space without congressional approval.)
Later Saturday, Trump led Fox News — specifically, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump — on a tour of some of his construction projects, strolled around the White House and raved about the ballroom’s historical significance. “It will be the safest facility ever built,” he said, fantasizing about serving cocktails in the White House before escorting state guests to the ballroom for dinner. He then praised the Arc de Triomphe: It would be like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris – only bigger and “more beautiful”.
Messiah pose instead of crisis politics
Meanwhile, Americans are struggling to make ends meet in the midst of a war against Iran that Trump appears unwilling to end, unable to end, or, most likely, both at the same time. Instead, he spends more and more time posting on social media, mocking Democrats with AI memes, and portraying himself as a messianic god-emperor. However, there is no need to worry about the president’s mental state. He was at the hospital again last week for a check-up and passed his dementia test with flying colors. “Are the Democrats really surprised?” he wrote on Truth Social, claiming the test was “extremely difficult.”