Punch-drunk Trump is trapped in the first three stages of grief

After arguably the worst night in the Republican Party’s history since Watergate more than half a century ago, Donald Trump’s eyes are fixed firmly on the future: more specifically, they are fixed on his ballroom, his helipad, the victory arch he wants to build – the Arc de Trump, if you will – and the refurbishment of the Reflecting Pool, which he finally believes he’s got right. What else can be concluded from his bizarre behaviour over the past few tumultuous days. Trump’s only event the night before voting stations opened for the midterms was to go to the Reflecting Pool to give a news conference that seemed more focused on the problems of green algae. Don’t get me wrong, I love the body of water that sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, but is that really what was uppermost in voters’ minds the day before they went to the polls? Meanwhile, the one public engagement Trump held the day after Americans offered the most brutal repudiation of his presidency to date was also linked to one of his vanity projects. Trump took reporters on a tour of the ballroom building site, the monstrously outsized project the historic East Wing of the White House was knocked down to make room for. “Have you seen the helipad?” he called out to the bewildered journalists following him around. Increasingly, Trump is resembling Kublai Khan in his own Xanadu. The US President seems far more preoccupied with building projects and applying gold paint and appliqués to any available White House wall or fixture than he is about the struggles of ordinary Americans. At any time during a normal presidency, these two media events would have seemed odd, but given the magnitude of the midterm elections, his response just feels unfathomable.Donald Trump’s eyes seem to be firmly fixed on his vanity projects, writes Jon Sopel (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) In the seven stages of grief, the first three are shock, denial and anger, before you reach the enlightened final phase of acceptance and hope. It’s clear that Trump will remain locked in numbers one, two and three for quite some time. That is how we should frame what is happening now. Despite all the warning signs and fears from those around him, Trump was shocked at the scale of his party’s defeat. He is in denial at the possibility that the American people have turned their back on him. Sure, there is a cohort that still adores him, but his hold has been broken, and over that he is and will remain in denial. For goodness sake, the 80-year-old President is still banging on about how he won the 2020 election. Denial is the Trump default setting, especially if the alternative is accepting that he lost. And then there’s anger. There’s plenty of that right now. Who can Trump lash out at and blame for the failure that can’t possibly be down to him? Pete Hegseth could be one of those who takes the fall for the midterm results (Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty) It’s hard to see how Trump’s ludicrous Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, survives. He was the cheerleader for the ill-fated war with Iran, which pretty much everyone agrees cost the Republican Party dearly. My guess is that if he isn’t fired by Trump, then Congress will impeach him in due course. Then there’s Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, who is reportedly thinking about resigning – getting out before it’s too late for his 2028 presidential ambitions. Finally, we come to JD Vance, the Vice President, who hasn’t missed a beat. The job of the Veep is to be cheerleader for the President, but from the rubble of Tuesday’s results, Vance came out on Wednesday to break with Trump over the war in Iran. He also acknowledged Republicans’ failures to deal with voter concerns about the cost of living. It was audacious, and will do nothing to assuage Trump’s anger. Rubio, Vance, Senator Ted Cruz in Texas, Ron DeSantis in Florida and a number of others have their eyes on 2028. The game seems to be this: don’t say that Maga is dead or was wrong – imply instead that Trump has betrayed its principles. Voters showed their frustrations not just about the war with Iran but other aspects of Trump’s last two years in power (Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters) The President is no longer as powerful as he was before Tuesday, but he is still dangerous and maintains a tight grip on his base. One thing I predict won’t happen until the very last minute is Trump offering an endorsement to anyone. Once he endorses, the beam of the camera lights will transfer to that person – and will be off Trump. That would be unconscionable for him. Aside from the economy and the war in Iran, the other main issue for voters this election was the sense of rampant self-dealing and financial enrichment of Trump and those around him. Trump promised to drain the swamp, but many are saying he’s become the swamp. The wannabe presidential candidates are going to have to address that. And here lies the dilemma for many of those jockeying to succeed Trump. They need his imprimatur to win the Republican nomination, but might not be able to prevail in a general election by being seen as his protege. Or to put it more simply: they can’t win without him, and they can’t win with him. Trump may be down, but he is far from out of the picture.