President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war with Canada has not only split his own Republican Party, it has revealed that he has lost what one writer described as a "superhuman ability" — much to his political detriment.

President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with Canada has not only split his own Republican Party, it has revealed that he has lost what one writer described as a “superhuman ability” — much to his political detriment.

“Throughout his political career, Trump’s signature skill has been to drive the conversation where he wanted it to go. He declares victory when things have not been won,” wrote Slate’s Ben Jacobs on Monday. “He ducks attribution with the rhetorical tic ‘many people are saying,’ frequently followed by things that people are decidedly not saying. He posts outrageous graphics on social media. And, of course, he renames things: Political opponents get nicknames, buildings get Trump’s name, and bodies of water get America’s name.”

Pointing out that Trump used to be able to commandeer the news cycle with his controversies, and thereby rally his base behind him, he failed to do so by changing Lake Ontario’s name to Lake America as a way of taking a swipe at Canada.

“It’s a move we’ve seen before. Immediately upon taking office in 2025, Trump decreed that the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the Gulf of America,” Jacobs observed. “It was a quick and easy troll for a president who had taken office blaming Mexico for illegal immigration and touting the need to build a wall.”

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  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
    24·
    2 months ago

    Trump is losing on so many fronts now that it’s hard to keep up.

    1. Iran War is a catastrophe militarily, economically and politically.
    2. Trump has managed to show the US military is vulnerable.
    3. Trump has managed to overstretch the military budget against a country with only 5% the military budget.
    4. Canada not yielding to stupid demands in trade agreement.
    5. The way he lets ICE operate is massively unpopular.
    6. Lost badly in trade war with China, where it quickly turned out China had the upper hand.
    7. Ukraine Russia war, where Trump had hoped to make deals with Russia.
    8. The economy in general, and the federal economy in particular. the federal spending is now 40% higher than revenue, creating the most massive deficit ever.
    9. Trying to manipulate bond yields.
    10. Former allies unwilling to help, because Trump has alienated them, for instance pissing Europe off with his claims on Greenland.
    11. Even farmers are turning against Trump, the people of the heartland, that are supposed to be his biggest supporters. But that too he has managed to fuck up.
    12. Declining popularity among voters in USA.
    13. He is losing his grip on congress.

    On the other hand there are also all his many many victories like…
    Hang on…
    Goddammit I’m thinking!!

    Ah yes.

    1. Tax cuts to the rich.

    Phew, for a moment there I thought it was all for nothing.

    • hume_lemmy@lemmy.caEnglish
      7·
      2 months ago

      He’s also winning in that he’s emptying the US Treasury into his own pockets, don’t forget that

    • hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
      6·
      2 months ago

      I wouldn’t say it was all for nothing, at least for Trump. He was hugely successful in setting out what he intended to do… grift American tax dollars to build up his own wealth. He doesn’t care about this country or its people at all. He’s said it himself.

      The only reason he keeps insane religiofascist people around is because he’s racist, queerphobic and he uses them to hypnotize his deluded, cultist and theocratic base of Abrahamic assholes. Trump doesn’t give a shit about god or religion either, he believes he’s god himself. He’s a rapist, thief and pedo without morals.