END OF AN ERA?

King Trump’s Reign Is Finally Over—For Now: Wolff

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Opinion

When you finish a book and leave your characters behind, there is a feeling both of wonder and self-congratulation that you’ve reached the final page and, equally, a great existential sense about what comes next. Donald Trump has been my character for ten years. His political survival has been greater than any in American history. But he is smashed now, isn’t he? A nation divided by Trump appears as close as you can get to being united against him. And what can he do? He has no more elections, no more comebacks. He can’t rise again. He is a lame duck! Well, the difficulty of telling the Trump story is that it always exists in the present. He, or the circumstances he creates, dictates the context. The 2026 election arguably restores a certain civic faith in politics. It’s a new world, perhaps best represented by Texas Senator-elect James Talarico. To that, we can imagine Trump saying, “Are they stupid?” Modern politics goes hand in hand with anti-politics. Process begs disruption. Trump is always waiting in the wings as the daffy, extreme, f--k-it-all alternative—with nobody so far able to outdo that.

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