SINCERETALK

President Donald Trump is officially becoming a “big failure,” according to a conservative intellectual who wrote speeches for one of the Republican Party’s most beloved leaders, President Ronald Reagan. “His position in the political cosmos is changing,” Peggy Noonan wrote for The Wall Street Journal on Thursday . “In some new way good fortune is not on Mr. Trump’s side. There is a new precarity there.” She added, “All this is connected, obviously, to the dangerous mess of Iran, widespread economic anxiety and a rise in the energy and electoral success of the left, which hates him and, in its political bloodlust, apes him.” Describing Trump’s approval ratings, which are consistently in the 30-percentage range, she pointed out that he is especially suffering because of his mishandling of the Iran war and the ongoing failing economy. “Not so long ago, all the energy was with MAGA, the insurgents who went up against the establishment in the big rebellion, the big rebuke,” Noonan said. “...

Independent voters are a growing bloc in the American political body, made up in large part of people who have been fleeing both parties in droves. With President Donald Trump being a Republican, that party in particular has been worried about its flagging support in the polls with this group. Now a new survey explains why so many people are becoming independents — namely, that they are disgusted with their original party but do not warm up to the alternative. “In the United States, partisanship has a greater impact on political behavior than any other social identity,” wrote Alex Tolkin , a researcher at the Duke Initiative on Survey Methodology and The Polarization Lab from Duke University, in the abstract for his study for the journal Public Opinion Quarterly. “However, the proportion of Americans who actively identify with a party, as opposed to Independents who ‘lean’ toward one, is at its lowest point in decades.” He added, “Existing research offers two explanations for why: ...

Democratic James Carville said the nation is clearly losing patience with President Donald Trump, and even Republican voters are finding themselves less and less beholden to the man — even if they are loathe to admit it. He said on his Wednesday “ Politics War Room ” podcast that many Republican and MAGA voters appear to be bidding a fond farewell to Trump as they cast their eye to a new cult leader. Nowhere was this clearer, said Carville, than in the South Carolina primaries this week, as State Sen. Darline Graham failed to clinch the primary after Trump offered her a full-throated endorsement. Now she faces a second grueling run-off against Republican Rep. Ralph Norman, a conservative hard-liner who had previously run for governor. Republican voters expressed doubt about Graham in earlier surveys, with one Trump voter saying “she has a master's and she's helped people that are blind and she's a lovely woman advocate. But I don't feel like she has the experience.” ...

Actor Matthew Rhys’ longtime partner and fellow actress Keri Russell discussed their Emmy nominations in an interview with Variety . Rhys chatted about his roles in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me , and Russell discussed her nomination for The Diplomat. But even though President Donald Trump and the chaos politics surrounding him and the White House did not factor into the isolated world of the northeastern island that served as Widow’s Bay’s setting there was no banishing the controversial president form the exchange. As they discussed the popularity of Widow’s Bay, Russell said she appreciated the “escape” the show provided the audience — even if it buries modern American politics in the drip-drip creepiness that plagues the beleaguered island inhabitants. “It’s also such a delightful departure from the s—— that we’re in,” Russell told Variety. “Do you know what I mean? There is not a mention in the show so far for me about what’s happening — the destruction of our country,” “Righ...

National security analyst David Rothkopf tells the Daily Beast that President Donald Trump is a decaying husk of a man these days, but his gooey meat is delicious to the right kind of vulture. “We are watching the president ripen and rot before our very eyes,” said Rothkopf. “If he were a banana, he’d be in the trash right now — or, at best, on his way into a recipe for banana bread. From swollen ankles and bruised hands, we’ve watched this deterioration progress with each passing day. This week saw a progression of bruises up his arms. He is barely able to stay awake at virtually any public function he attends. His behavior is erratic. His already limited vocabulary is increasingly beyond his recall. He needs to be propped up when he walks any distance at all. According to reports, he emits strange odors.” “It’s not pretty,” Rothkopf adds. And given Trump’s power and responsibilities, this brand of high-speed decay should be a source of alarm and action. It’s not enough for Trum...

President Donald Trump is flagging in polls , suggesting that he and the Republican Party are in peril for the upcoming midterm elections . Yet according to a recent report, Trump's plan for dealing with his poor approval rating is not to provide economic relief to ordinary Americans suffering from high prices and a weak job market, but to give even more benefits to the wealthy. "President Donald Trump is looking for new policy pledges he can present to voters ahead of the midterm election, according to a top economic aide and a former administration official, including potentially calling on Congress to cut capital gains taxes and create an exemption for certain home sales," reported Bloomberg's Josh Wingrove on Tuesday . "National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Tuesday in an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow that Trump wants to offer voters more incentives to back Republicans in November’s election." Even as Trump proposes an eco...