Trump's honeymoon is over as his future takes a 'gruesome' turn: analyst

Donald Trump is leaning heavily on his attack on Iran and his recent NATO appearance to detract from the news that his popularity is waning, his big beautiful budget bill may not be all that he hoped for and prospects don't look good for the president and his party going forward.

That is according to Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, who claims that things are not looking good for the president on the homefront.

With the Guardian's David Smith writing, "in the sixth month of his second presidency, Trump’s domestic honeymoon is over," he added that recent polling shows "About 49% of voters approve of his handling of immigration while 47% disapprove but on the economy 43% approve and 54% disapprove."

That has led the president to rely on foreign policy to boost his image as a strong leader as demonstrated by his recent involvement in interjecting himself in the war tensions between Israel and Iran as well as grandstanding at the NATO conference.

According to Jacobs, Trump has good reason for trying to change the narrative.

“There’s two presidencies," he explained. "The one on the domestic front is gruesome and involves long-drawn-out and disappointing negotiations with Congress and that’s exactly what Donald Trump is engaged in now. What emerges from Congress is not going to be as ‘big’ or ‘beautiful’ as he promised."

He added, "Meanwhile you’ve got staggering photographs of bombs falling from the sky, Donald Trump’s flamboyant description of what he’s achieved in Iran and Europe. That’s the kind of Hollywood performance that Donald Trump wants.”

The Guardian's Smith added that now the Trump Iran "narrative" is also falling apart, due to a "leaked intelligence report suggesting that the operation set back Iran’s nuclear programme by only a few months."

According to Jacobs, "This is a classic deception. He’s like the carnival barker who’s waving his hands to keep the attention of the audience even as he’s hiding the part for the next trick," adding, "Politicians like to cover their tracks; there’s no covering the tracks here. There will be known cuts to widely used popular programmes like the healthcare for Medicaid and there will be no doubt as to who’s responsible. These are traceable, highly visible consequences of Donald Trump.”

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