Trump is now a cornered animal — and the worst is still to come

Yesterday I ran into a friend who expressed relief that “the worst is over” from Trump.

I asked him why he thought so.

He became animated. “The courts are stopping him! Republicans are in shambles! His MAGA base is furious with him! The Epstein scandal is growing! His polls are in free fall. Dems are winning elections! It’s over!”

I told him that all of that was true, but the worst is not over. In fact, this year is likely to be even worse than the last.

Trump’s real base of support — the billionaires, Big Oil, Big Tech and AI, Big Crypto, defense contractors, and Wall Street — know that the midterm elections may limit what they and Trump can get away with starting a year from now.

So, 2026 could be the last year they can cash in. This means they’re likely to loot America even more this year than in 2025.

Big Oil just cashed in big. By taking over Venezuela, Trump effectively gave America’s biggest oil companies the world’s largest proven oil reserves — estimated at around 303 billion barrels, roughly one-fifth of total global oil reserves.

It’s part of the deal he struck with Big Oil in the 2024 campaign, when it agreed to back him in return for his rolling back environmental regulations.

Big Oil has continued the gusher — contributing to his ballroom, his PAC, and his investments. Ditto Big Tech and AI, Big Crypto, the biggest banks, biggest defense contractors, and so on.

The pattern we observed in 2025 is ramping up: Trump destroying public institutions, preventing and rolling back regulations and public protections, privatizing public functions, and siphoning off big profits to wealthy individuals and industries from which he extorts huge sums of money.

I say this not to depress or alarm you but to warn you against the kind of complacency I heard in my friend yesterday.

Yes, the courts are limiting him, the Republican Party is cracking up, his MAGA base is disillusioned, his polls are dropping, Democrats are winning elections.

All true, but these have made Trump and the oligarchs behind him even more determined to loot America.

These have also made Trump even more dangerous — like a cornered animal. He views the political backlash as challenges to his power. So he’ll seek to display even more power — lashing out at perceived enemies, foreign and domestic.

This means it’s more important than ever for us to be vigilant, to protect democracy and the rule of law, and to fight back against his authoritarianism (including the steps I outlined a few days ago).

I know it’s exhausting. I know it’s stressful and time-consuming. I know you’re sick to death of Trump. I am, too.

But as he revealed early Saturday morning when he had the president of Venezuela and his wife dragged out of their bed, arrested, sent to the United States and put in the Municipal Detention Center in Brooklyn to await trial — there is no limit to what Trump will do to assert his power.

Your activism and courage are needed.

• Robert Reich is a emeritus professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.
• Robert Reich's new memoir,Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org