This Is a Republican-Made Disaster
Trump is the madman abusing power and threatening monstrous war crimes, but the GOP empowered him.
Tune in
Zeteo contributor John Harwood is hosting a Substack live at 1:50pm ET Friday (10:50am PT, 6:50pm BST) with economist Justin Wolfers on how Trump is making the US poorer. They’ll take your questions.
Americans have begun to sense the scale of the catastrophe that Donald Trump’s second presidency has inflicted on all of us.
The year-one decimation of government functions, self-harm of high tariffs, brutality on city streets, and broad assault on the rule of law were bad enough. Now the mentally unbalanced commander in chief publicly threatens monstrous crimes in an ineptly-conceived war, trashing America’s global leadership while constituents suffer the economic consequences – among which spiking gas prices represent just the opening blow.
Trump seeks to corrupt this fall’s midterm elections that might constrain him. So far, he has failed.
That leaves a simple political question for 2026: whether American voters hold accountable the parties who caused this nightmare. Or, more precisely, the party – the Republican Party.
Yes, Trump is the madman abusing power. But the GOP has empowered him, long after the dangers became apparent.