Josh Marshall points out the two very different dynamics we are seeing this summer. Trump's authoritarianism is very much on the march through the institutions. The various defunding and concentrating the power of the purse at the wrong end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The apparent creation of a secret police within ICE. The attacks on political opponents and "blue" areas of the country. Some of the batshit insane "content" emanating from the White House is a failed attempt to distract from Epstein, but still, he's leaning into some very alarming behaviors that extend beyond his usual rhetoric.
But - as Marshall notes - this is all pretty damned unpopular! If you burrow into his actual policies, they are ALL underwater, including his "strong" issues on immigration and deportation and the economy. His approval ratings are in the low 40s and falling. There is 23 point negative spread on prices and inflation; it's 17 points on jobs and the economy; it's 14 points negative on deportations.
Marshall's thesis - and I think it's accurate - is that you cannot turn America into Hungary if you're incredibly unpopular. Orban was popular. When Putin dismantled the poorly institutionalized Russian democracy, he was really popular. Populism isn't synonymous with popularity, but sometimes it is largely popular.
Trump isn't.
As the Epstein issue continues to plague him, he will act more and more outlandish in an effort to chum up the waters. Much of those efforts will likely make him MORE unpopular.
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