{"id":8283,"date":"2026-08-03T05:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T05:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8283"},"modified":"2026-08-03T05:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T05:05:11","slug":"as-he-wrestles-with-the-monumental-and-the-absurd-trump-forgets-what-voters-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8283","title":{"rendered":"As he wrestles with the monumental and the absurd, Trump forgets what voters want"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n President Donald Trump is trying to shape how he\u2019s remembered through his transformations of Washington\u2019s monuments, official buildings and grassy parks \u2014 and the honors boards at his golf clubs.\n <\/p>

Read more Blanche rescinds Trump\u2019s \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, removing hurdle from AG pick\u2019s confirmation<\/a><\/p>\n

\n But as a frenetic summer rolls on, his legacy instead risks being dominated by a US strategic stalemate in Iran, the unaddressed economic anxieties of millions of Americans, and Republican Party schisms caused by his personal obsessions.\n <\/p>\n

\n This unusual political bifurcation means Trump is juggling some of the gravest issues confronted by a modern president, like the war, and some of most trivial, including a dispute over Washington\u2019s Reflecting Pool. It helps explain polling by CNN and other outlets three months before midterm elections that reveal low approval ratings and dissatisfaction on issues voters care about most.\n <\/p>\n

\n By any conventional measure, this is a presidency in trouble. The traditional response would be to behave in a more focused way. But Trump is different from most presidents. He doubles down; he picks fights designed to please his political base; and he engineers sudden changes of course.\n <\/p>\n

\n Throughout a turbulent weekend, Trump oscillated between profound and preposterous issues that all seem to merit equal time in his mind.\n <\/p>\n

\n He threatened to deploy the worst \u201cterror, strength, and power not seen since World War II\u201d against Iran. But in the same social media post he put US military action on hold. The president told reporters Sunday that he listened to Gulf allies and that talks on a deal would begin Monday afternoon. His move was typical of the chilling threats and sudden reversals of a war that Trump claimed he\u2019d won after a few days and that is now heading into its sixth \u200bmonth with no end in sight.\n <\/p>\n

\n The president also fulminated about other personal quests that don\u2019t match top voter concerns. He\u2019s refusing to give up his idea for a $1.8 billion fund to compensate \u2014 among others \u2014 supporters convicted after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which is imperiling the nomination of his attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche. He\u2019s also feuding with Senate Republicans over the failure to pass his measure to overhaul federal elections \u2014 despite the package lacking the necessary votes.\n <\/p>\n

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\nSupporters of US President Donald Trump are seen from behind scaffolding as they riot outside the US Capitol’s Rotunda on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Trump is seeking funds to compensate \u2014 among others \u2014 supporters convicted after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Olivier Douliery\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nA US Marine stands outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 20, 2026.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Aaron Schwartz\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Trump doubles down on the pool palaver\n<\/h2>\n

\n As the president tries to remake the Middle East, he\u2019s doing the same to Washington.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump lashed out after DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped a case against a man accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool, which had to be drained after the president\u2019s botched renovation. He\u2019s having better luck with other grand projects. His ballroom is rising from the ruins of the White House East Wing, which he knocked down in a stunning show of questionable presidential authority. A new helicopter pad is taking shape on the South Lawn.And he\u2019s planning a huge turfing effort. \u201cWe\u2019re changing all the grass in all the parks,\u201d he said last week. \u201cGrass is like human beings. Grass has a life also.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But do voters really care about this? The same question could be asked of Trump\u2019s comment Sunday after another victory in one of his golf club championships. \u201cIt\u2019s called TALENT,\u201d the president wrote on social media of his win. His tone of self-congratulation seemed a little out of tune with a tough national moment.\n <\/p>

Read more Exclusive: US military asks troops for \u2018creative and unconventional\u2019 ideas to punish Iran<\/a><\/p>\n

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\nA worker on a construction crane outside the White House on July 28, 2026.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Aaron Schwartz\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told CNN\u2019s Dana Bash on \u201cState of the Union\u201d on Sunday that \u201cPresident Trump is focused on making America great and focused on making Washington beautiful again.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Democrats, however, are creating a narrative of neglect that saddles Trump with responsibility for voters\u2019 concerns on the war and other issues.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe says one thing, he does another thing,\u201d Sen. Mark Kelly said on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation,\u201d referring to the war.\n <\/p>\n

\n There are \u201ca lot of retired service members that can\u2019t afford to put gas in their car, can\u2019t afford groceries. Rent is going up. And this president is not dealing with the issues that the American people need him to deal with,\u201d the Arizona Democrat said.\n <\/p>\n

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\nA visitor looks at ongoing construction at the drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, following renovations and Independence Day celebrations, in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2026.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Nathan Howard\/Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nPresident Donald Trump departs aboard Marine One after a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on July 31, 2026.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Nathan Howard\/Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Voters think Trump is focused on the wrong things\n<\/h2>\n

\n Trump\u2019s choices are reflected in polling that is daunting for Republicans who are asking voters for another two years for their monopoly on Washington power, even as Democrats struggle to overcome the country\u2019s distrust with their brand and remain locked in an ideological tussle over their identity.\n <\/p>\n

\n A CNN\/SSRS poll released last week suggests Trump has his eye on the wrong issues. A record 73% of US adults said he hasn\u2019t paid enough attention to the country\u2019s most important problems, with just 27% saying he\u2019s had the right priorities. Around three-quarters said the president isn\u2019t in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives.\n <\/p>\n

\n He could certainly be doing a far better job of telling his own story \u2014 for instance, highlighting programs that connect with the voters\u2019 concerns, such as the TrumpRx website designed to lower prescription drug costs; higher-than-expected tax refunds that benefited many citizens this year; and \u201cTrump Accounts\u201d designed to give newborns a head start on the American dream.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s fair to question whether Trump understands his political plight. He routinely describes polls charting his low approval as fake. He claims the US is the \u201chottest\u201d country in the world. \u201cThe administration has done more in 18 months than most administrations have done in eight years,\u201d he said at a Cabinet meeting Friday. \u201cThis is the golden age of America.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The midterm elections are unlikely to mend America\u2019s polarization. But they may solve one puzzle: whether Trump has another comeback left in him.\n <\/p>

Read more Democratic socialists face a prove-it moment in battleground Wisconsin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump is trying to shape how he\u2019s remembered through his transformations of Washington\u2019s monuments, official buildings and grassy parks \u2014 and the honors boards at his golf clubs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAs he wrestles with the monumental and the absurd, Trump forgets what voters want - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As he wrestles with the monumental and the absurd, Trump forgets what voters want - 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