Donald Trump is 'distracted and disengaged' according to an expert who believes recent administration choices highlight how 'tone deaf' the president is.
Trump's announcements during the government shutdown, including a 50-year mortgage proposal and docked pay for air traffic controllers who did not return to work, have the president spiralling, according to The Atlantic. Experts believe the "tone-deafness" of Trump's recent policies will begin to wear thin on voters, who were seen shifting to Democrat candidates in recent Mayoral and Governor elections.
Columnist Mark Leibovich suggested Trump's grasp on power is loosening, and as a result the president is "distracted and disengaged" by issues his administration should be tackling. Leibovich wrote, "Beyond the undertones of lost influence, being a lame duck can also suggest a president distracted, disengaged, and biding time. Again, these notions would seem anathema to everything Trump wants to convey. Theoretically, at least."
Proposed projects from Trump, including renovating the east wing of the White House into a ballroom, will not be stopped, according to presidential historian Mark Updegrove.
Updegrove said, "His gold-leaf excess and ‘Let ’em eat cake’ tone-deafness will likely wear ever thinner." The historian likened Trump to "a toddler unwilling to surrender a lollipop" when it came to his "ballroom ambitions."
Republican candidates were told they should be worried for the midterms next year by CNN's Harry Enten. Enten suggested Trump may be trying "to downplay voters' concerns about affordability" as rent, electricity, and grocery prices are on the rise.
Enten said, "It may be an error that goes down in political infamy. The reason Donald Trump was elected was to fix the problem of inflation. Right back in October of 2024, who was more trusted on inflation? Now we’re talking about Trump. He, of course, at least constitutionally, can’t run for another term. But his Republican Party is up in the midterm elections. They should be scared s-h-blank-blank-less."
It's an issue that appears to be on the mind of Vice President J.D. Vance too, who says the GOP will be judged on their economic successes as early as next year. He said, "We need to focus on the home front. The president has done a lot that has already paid off in lower interest rates and lower inflation, but we inherited a disaster from Joe Biden and Rome wasn’t built in a day."
"We’re going to keep on working to make a decent life affordable in this country, and that’s the metric by which we’ll ultimately be judged in 2026 and beyond."