# Trump faces his reckoning

> Political Washington believes the 2026 midterms could finally end Trump's dominance, with millions of Republicans expected to reject him.
- Title: Trump faces his reckoning · The New Yorker | Shortify
- Summary: Political Washington believes the 2026 midterms could finally end Trump's dominance, with millions of Republicans expected to reject him.
- Keywords: donald trump, 2026 midterms, republican party, election, inflation, iran conflict, tariffs, trade war, political washington, The New Yorker
- Source: The New Yorker — https://newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/finally-the-beginning-of-trumps-end
- Author: Susan B. Glasser
- Published: 2026-11-03T11:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: donald trump, 2026 midterms, republican party, election, inflation, iran conflict, tariffs, trade war, political washington, politics, news
## Second terms go badly
Ronald Reagan faced Iran-Contra. Bill Clinton was impeached. George W. Bush ended with financial crisis. Trump's second-term scandal may not have happened yet.
## Trump is the crisis
By reelecting Trump in 2024, the United States created a different problem: a President who is himself the crisis, not merely facing one.
## Impeachment won't work
The Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority to remove a President. Trump, twice impeached and twice acquitted, has already proven this barrier insurmountable.
## Washington expects defeat
Political Washington believes the 2026 midterms will be different for Trump. Campaign insiders think this may finally be the Big One, his decisive rejection.
## Republicans will reject him
Trump's defeat would come not from Democrats but from millions of Republicans in red America voting to renounce the President, his policies, and his handpicked candidates.
## Trump sabotaged his party
Trump started an unpopular conflict with Iran, imposed costly tariffs, and launched a trade war with Canada. All drove up prices when his 2024 campaign promised to curb inflation.
## His arrogance cost him
Trump mocked concerns about his rash actions while insisting the election focus on him and his record. He told Georgia voters, "I don't give a damn" about the economy.

> I don't give a damn
## The Reflecting Pool speech
Trump's closing campaign speech at the National Mall spent twenty-three minutes justifying his renovation of the Reflecting Pool before addressing his electoral case to voters.
## Boasting about maintenance
Trump called Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to praise the pool renovation. Burgum, a former North Dakota governor, said "Today is a day of gratitude to President Trump."

> Today is a day of gratitude to President Trump
## His unfinished projects
Trump closed his speech pitching unfinished projects: a world championship golf course and the biggest, most beautiful triumphal arch anywhere to build.
## From greatness to statues
Ten years ago Trump promised to Make America Great Again. His final campaign ended with him bragging about steam-cleaning Washington's statues and re-grassing its parks.
## The beginning of the end
If the 2026 midterms represent the beginning of Trump's end, the author writes, the end cannot come soon enough for the nation.
## Key takeaway

Trump's unpopular policies and political arrogance have convinced Washington insiders that Republicans will suffer historic losses in the 2026 midterms.