Trump insiders fear 'ending up in the hoosegow' as 'confused' president falters: analyst

President Donald Trump has taken a series of blows in the last month and instead of bowing out of the fight, he and his inner circle will come back even harder, an analyst predicted Thursday.

David Rothkopf, a columnist for The Daily Beast, described why the people closest to him are spooked by the reality that if Trump is out of power then they could end up in prison.

"The problem is in this case, the refs—on the Supreme Court and in the majority on Capitol Hill—are on the take, and the people in the champ’s corner won’t throw in the towel because it could lead to all of them ending up in the hoosegow," Rothkopf wrote.

"So, as bad as it has been recently for Kid Cankles, it seems likely that the more punishment he takes, the dirtier he will start to fight," Rothkopf explained.

And compared to his first year in office, the last several weeks of 2026 have tested Trump. His attacks haven't landed. He's taken multiple hits as several Republicans allies turn on him, while Trump's attempt to seize Greenland backfired and when other world leaders stood up to him — it caused him to retreat.

"The question is, then, how much longer can the fading pug continue? If he were really a boxer, he’d have been put out to pasture long ago, reduced to sitting at a table in a bar somewhere signing autographs and answering questions that began, 'Didn’t you used to be…?'" Rothkopf wrote.

But that's not what Trump wants to do.

"The problem is that there are people in his corner who are terrified of what the end of their champion means for them," Rothkopf wrote. "With the president addled and confused, they are the ones calling the shots now. And they know that if he goes, they go down too. So they’re trying everything. And we can expect a flurry of blows against free and fair elections next."