Trump’s 'blueprint for chaos' pushing America to the 'breaking point': political strategist

President Donald Trump's volatile, chaotic second term has brought him a series of rebukes this month, from a variety of Democratic election victories to the bombshell resignation of firebrand MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who went from being one of Trump's most strident defenders to becoming increasingly critical of his policies.

Democratic organizers are hoping that more rebukes of Trump lie ahead in 2026, especially in the midterms. But Democratic strategist Max Burns, in an op-ed published by The Hill on November 26, warns that the more overwhelmed Trump feels next year, the more dangerous he will become.

"With the GOP 'establishment' now a distant memory," Burns said. "The president has been able to build exactly the sycophantic imperial court he swore would have salvaged his doomed first term. Instead, the American people are watching chaos unfold on a level that seems shocking even for Trump. Nearly a year into his second term, the Trump presidency is clearly directionless. The White House has given up even hinting at domestic legislative priorities."

Burns continued, "Once a political punchline, lawmakers now find themselves longing for the days when Trump at least pretended to be interested in something like Infrastructure Week."

Americans, Burns observed, are "facing accelerating job losses and steadily rising prices."

"Meanwhile, Americans' already shaky consumer confidence has spiraled in the face of Trumpian inaction," the Democratic strategist observed. "New figures released this week show the Consumer Confidence Index hitting its lowest point since April, driven by growing worries about the huge number of corporate layoffs ripping through the economy. At the same time, Trump has seemingly lost interest in the National Guard troops and ICE agents he's left on the streets in blue cities like Washington, D.C., and Chicago, where clashes with American citizens are rapidly hitting a moral and legal breaking point."

But Burns stressed that feeling beleaguered will make Trump more, not less, of a threat to the country's wellbeing in the months ahead.

"America has suffered through bad presidents before, but we've rarely been cursed with a president who simply doesn't care about doing the job," Burns wrote. "Trump's overwhelming apathy has created power vacuums across every part of our government, and his band of grifting loyalists are rushing in to steal what they can while the boss is clocked out. This isn't a model of effective government, it's a blueprint for collapse. What a perfect description for the vapid, lazy mess Trump's MAGA agenda has become."

Max Burns' full op-ed for The Hill is available at this link.