Trump's Failures Don't Get Enough Attention

As some readers may remember, my youngest brother passed away just over three years ago. One of the last conversations that I had with him was about cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump and why Trump still had considerable support. My brother lived in the Midwest, surrounded by Trump supporters. He argued that all the Democrats did was complain about a new terrible thing that Trump did each day and that this message was not effective. In response, I pointed out that Trump does do terrible things every day and those things should not be ignored. He conceded my point, but nevertheless was convinced that most voters didn't care and, therefore, didn't respond to the message. Now, in Trump's second term during which Trump's pace of doing terrible things has, if anything, only quickened, I think about that conversation often. Almost every day, Trump does something that should be career-ending and, in most administrations, probably would be. Yet Trump's actions get cursory attention at best and are often overlooked completely.

Thinking about this, I was reminded of an article written by Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo way back in 2015. Marshall noticed that Trump had a tendency to make a shambles of an issue but then move on to another issue (of which he also made a shambles) so quickly that opponents were always a step behind. Marshall compared this to how northern generals in the U.S. Civil War had used mobility as an advantage. But then readers told him about the U.S. military concept of Observe-Orient-Decide-Act or the OODA Loop. Marshall quoted a reader as explaining:

whoever controls the tempo controls the fight. In the case of active conflict, like a political campaign, if you can get through OODA loops faster than your opponent, you can change the context in ways that make their responses to your prior moves irrelevant and ineffective.

Marshall was observing Trump during the campaign that led to Trump's first term as President. However, Trump has never stopped using this tactic. Whether he is intentionally employing OODA loops or just stumbled across the idea organically, Trump moves from one topic to another so quickly that there is no time to react. Take, for instance, Trump's behavior during the United States-Israel war against Iran. One day Trump is threatening to end Iran's civilization and the next he says that a peace agreement is nearly completed. While critics are focused on his first comment, the world has moved on to the second. Before analysts have the chance to point out that Trump was lying about the peace agreement, he is back to threatening mass destruction. In this manner, Trump's record of corruption, failure, and general incompetence gets left behind as everyone is busy focusing on his current actions.

In light of this reality, I am going to take today to list parts of Trump's record that should not be left behind. I don't know how, but we still need to focus on and bring attention to these items.

The first topic is Trump's health. For months, the back of Trump's right hand has been discolored. He attempts to cover this with some sort of makeup that looks almost like shellac. The media at one point paid some attention to this and the administration's explanation was that Trump's hand was bruised due to constantly shaking hands. However, the bruising is not in a location that is normally impacted by shaking hands. Moreover, in recent months, the back of Trump's left hand shows the same discoloration. It is unlikely that Trump has taken to shaking hands with his left hand now.

Because the White House is clearly not being candid about Trump's hands, it is reasonable to question whether the administration is attempting to hide serious health problems from which Trump might be suffering. Any such suspicions would be further justified by Trump's seeming fixation on death. As I documented last October, Trump has repeatedly discussed whether or not he will go to heaven, often concluding that he will not. It is entirely possible that our country is being led by a president suffering from serious health issues who may even be on the brink of dying, and we are not being told. This should be a much bigger issue.

Possible health issues may explain another topic involving Trump that should be getting more attention. This is his obsession with building monuments to himself. This is also an area in which Trump acts particularly dictatorial. Trump not only had the East Wing of the White House destroyed with absolutely no consultation with anyone, he was misleading about how he went about it. When construction equipment was first noticed doing work near the East Wing, the administration lied by saying that only the facade was being removed. In reality, the entire destruction of the wing had been planned all along. This project, of course, involves the construction of a ballroom, Trump's almost singular obsession these days.

It would probably be impossible to find a meeting in the White House in which Trump did not bring up his ballroom. He routinely interrupts public appearances to point to where the ballroom is expected to be built, he constantly presents pictures of how the ballroom is expected to look, and he repeatedly talks about the project when much more important items are on the agenda. When a gunman attempted to attack Trump administration officials attending the White House Correspondents Association dinner, the event was completely seized upon to be exploited as a justification for the ballroom. The dinner was a private event that couldn't fit in the proposed ballroom, but those inconvenient facts were ignored in favor of furthering the ballroom project.

Similarly, Trump is fixated on building an arch near Arlington National Cemetery. He normally has a model of the arch on or near his desk in the Oval Office. As is the case with the ballroom, Trump turns important events into presentations of his proposed arch. Again, as is the case with the ballroom, Trump has no regard for rules, laws, past norms, history, or tradition. Trump wants his ballroom and arch and he will not let anything stand in the way. The connection this might have to his health was possibly explained by a Bluesky user who wrote, "The ballroom, the arch… I have a PhD in Egyptology and I know a mortuary temple complex when I see one."

Last night, Trump had the National Mall cleared of the public so that his motorcade could drive to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool so that he could see one of his latest projects. For reasons that only Trump can explain, he has had the reflecting pool painted blue. When he was asked by ABC News' Rachel Scott why he was focusing on projects like painting the reflecting pool when there is a war going on and gas is nearly $5 a gallon, Trump called the question "stupid" and said that Scott was "a horror show." He later referred to Scott as "a bitch."

This brings up another issue. As I documented earlier this year, Trump and his MAGA movement have a long history of misogyny. Trump routinely belittles female reporters in ways that he wouldn't a man. Trump referred to Bloomberg News' Catherine Lucey as "piggy" and repeatedly describes female reporters as "stupid" or "terrible." Trump has a terrible track record with women in general — remember that this is a guy who was recorded bragging about the part of a woman's anatomy he likes to grab — and his constant mistreatment of female reporters should get more attention. For that matter, the failure of male reporters to stand up for their colleagues should be a major scandal.

Along the same lines, Trump has a tendency to refer to people of color with whom he disagrees as "low IQ." This is a favorite putdown of Trump's but one almost entirely saved for people of color. Recently, Trump has repeatedly used the insult with regard to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. For instance, Trump posted on Truth Social that Jeffries is a "lunatic" and "Low IQ". Combined with Trump's frequent remarks about the importance to which he attaches to genetics, it is reasonable to conclude that Trump is racist and views people of color as naturally less intelligent than white people. Like Trump's evident misogyny, this should get much greater attention.

Another topic that gets little attention is Trump's association with white nationalists and conspiracy theorists such as QAnon proponents. This is demonstrated most often by posts that Trump "retruths" on Truth Social. In recent days, Trump has "retruthed" posts by PizzaGate conspiracy theorists Jack Posobiec and Mike Cernovich. Trump's Truth Social feed should be a career-ending controversy by itself as it is a constant stream of lunacy, lies, and insanity.

Trump has appointed a number of outspoken white nationalists to government posts and is implementing clearly white nationalist immigration policies. For instance, since October 2025, the U.S. has allowed entry to 4,499 refugees. All but three of them were white South Africans. Among the extremists that Trump has appointed is Paul Ingrassia, currently General Counsel of the General Services Administration. Ingrassia has claimed that "straight White men" are intellectually superior to other groups, called for reparations for the descendants of slave owners, and sympathized with Nazis.

Trump's corruption is beyond comprehension. The U.S. Constitution is very clear that "no Person holding any Office" shall "accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State." Yet, Trump routinely violates this clause. A case in point is the jet given to him by Qatar. Trump plans to use the aircraft as Air Force One and then retire it to his presidential library. A sovereign investment fund controlled by the United Arab Emirates owns 49% of Trump's World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency venture. Trump has essentially stolen oil from Venezuela, which is sold with the profits being deposited in a bank account in Qatar that Trump controls. None of this should be allowed. Yet, each has been a short-lived controversy if it has received attention at all.

As a result of his corruption, Trump has massively increased his wealth during his presidency. According to Zach Everson, the Research Director for Public Citizen, since his reelection, Trump has increased his net worth by $1.9 billion. Trump's family has also benefited. Eric Trump's wealth has increased tenfold since Trump's reelection. Don Jr.'s is up six times. Even Barron Trump, only 20 years old and never seeming to have held a job, is worth over $150 million now. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, has become a billionaire. Consider the attention given to Hunter Biden and ask why there are not multiple Congressional committees investigating the Trumps' corruption?

Trump is a failure as a president. Within the first week, he strategically lost the war with Iran. His repeated claims about the war have universally been shown to be false. Yet the media dutifully repeats whatever Trump says without mentioning the near inevitability that Trump is not being truthful. Trump's lying extends through all aspects of his presidency. For instance, Trump currently has a graphic on his Truth Social feed saying that oil was priced at $120 a barrel during the former President Joe Biden's administration and is currently down $30 to $90 a barrel. This is false. The highest price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude under Biden was just over $75. WTI has been over $100 a barrel several times in the past several days. As I write this, it is $95.35. In fact, the claim of a 25% reduction would be more accurately termed a 25% increase. This will get no mention in the press.

Oil and gas prices are up significantly due to Trump's war against Iran. Much of the American public is suffering because of the high price of gas. Especially when combined with price increases resulting from Trump's tariffs. Trump promised gas would be less than $2 a gallon. Now it is over $4 and will likely remain high for at least the rest of the year. Yet Trump has no empathy for those paying these prices. He has said that he "Couldn’t care less about" high gas prices. Could you imagine the reaction to any other president causing the price of gas to nearly double and then saying that he didn't care?

Trump has put the entire world's economy at risk. Yet, that gets very little attention. All sorts of oil experts are issuing dire warnings about current shortages. For instance, yesterday the CEO of Shell Oil said that we have dug ourselves into a hole that is getting worse every day. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is at an all-time high. There is considerable irrational exuberance at play. That probably deserves some press coverage.

High diesel prices will directly impact the production and shipping of food (farm equipment runs on diesel). Moreover, according to the Secretary of Agriculture, 1 in 4 U.S. farmers has not secured fertilizer, and the American Farm Bureau reports that 70% of farmers can't afford fertilizer for this season. Farm bankruptcies are up 40%. Price increases resulting from this will not show up in the short run, but they are coming. This should be huge news. But in the era of Trump, who can keep up with all the important stories?

Trump is a raging narcissist, naming everything he can find after himself. He is both physically and cognitively unhealthy. His second term has been a disaster that is only going to get worse. Yet, he gets surprisingly positive media coverage. Part of this is due to right-wing media including Fox News simply refusing to report anything that puts Trump in a negative light. Part of it is the mainstream media cleaning up after Trump and making things seem better than they actually are. Some of this may be motivated by fear given Trump's track record of lawsuits. But much of the reason that Trump is not suffering from bad press is that it is impossible to keep up with all that he is doing. By the time reporters cover one travesty, Trump is on to another. Trump is inside the media's OODA loop. They need to figure out how to respond in an effective manner.