'Weak' Trump ending the year with his 'mystique' evaporating as his defenders flee: column

Donald Trump's first year in his second term is concluding with mounting setbacks that have prompted some former supporters to distance themselves from the president, no longer viewing him as politically invincible.

In a post-Christmas column, New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg documented a series of defeats Trump has sustained in courtrooms, at the ballot box, and in public demonstrations.

According to Goldberg, organized resistance to Trump has proven effective during his second term. Grand juries have rejected the Department of Justice's politically motivated prosecutions, public support for Jimmy Kimmel blunted MAGA efforts to remove him from television, and growing protests have challenged ICE immigration enforcement operations.

Combined with economic stagnation, Trump's dismissal of affordability concerns, and escalating scrutiny surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files, the political landscape has shifted against the president. The controversies have also eroded support within the Republican caucus.

Goldberg characterized Trump as "weak and unpopular," noting, "Much of the credit for the reinvigoration of the resistance belongs to Trump himself. Had he focused his deportation campaign on criminals or refrained from injuring the economy with haphazard tariffs while mocking concerns about affordability, he would probably have remained a more formidable figure."

She acknowledged Trump remains "still supremely dangerous" when cornered but suggested a shift in political dynamics has become apparent. "But it's become, over the past year, easier to imagine the moment when his mystique finally evaporates, when few want to defend him anymore or admit that they ever did."

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