Terry Moran, former Senior National Correspondent at ABC News, argues that Father Time has caught up with President Donald Trump, writing that the 80-year-old president is now "seemingly unable to walk in a straight line."

Moran spent more than two decades at ABC News, where he covered the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court, before leaving the network in 2025 following a social media post criticizing Trump adviser Stephen Miller. Substack, where he now publishes, has become a common destination for veteran journalists who have left legacy outlets to write directly for readers.

In a recent essay published on his Substack, Moran contends that Trump's physical decline has become undeniable at this point. "Several times at recent rallies, he seems to have had some kind of vocal spasm. He falls asleep in public a lot," Moran writes. He suggests that the president's obsession with winning has left him either blind to, or unaware of, his own deterioration.

Moran acknowledges that physical decline does not automatically end the influence of a dominant leader, pointing to historical precedents. "Physical decline doesn't automatically end the influence of a dominant leader. Franklin Roosevelt was clearly in desperate health and dying in front of the country in 1945, yet when he finally did pass away, the long shadow of his politics and policies stretched across decades. Charles de Gaulle's influence in France remains strong to this day," he writes.

In Trump's case, however, Moran argues that both the president and his movement are dying together. He points to the anger of MAGA devotees who have turned their backs on Trump over his tariffs, an unpopular war, and declining popularity.

Moran is especially critical of the president's Iran war, calling it "a wretched, stupid, unfocused and un-thought-out." He writes that the conflict has exposed the president to the American people who believed in his judgment, and argues that a plan to continue the fighting after the midterm elections shows Trump is "winging it" and cannot find a way out. He further asserts that the president cares more about his renovations and enriching himself than about the American people.

Looking ahead to the November 3 midterm elections, Moran predicts Trump will be shocked by the results and will assign blame within the GOP. Midterm elections have historically been difficult for the party holding the White House, and with all 435 seats in the House of Representatives on the ballot, the outcome will determine control of the chamber. "I believe come November 3rd — he'll be stunned how far he's fallen. He'll blame Republican candidates and lash out at anyone in the party who tries to tell him the truth. But deep down, he will know. It's over. Playtime is over. Peak Trump is over. It's all downhill from here," he writes.

Moran highlights competitive districts that Trump won by large margins, such as Indiana's 5th District and Kentucky's 6th District, which the president carried by 15 points. He declares that the downfall of Trump's MAGA movement, alongside his declining mental and physical well-being, is "now impossible to deny."

He advises poll watchers to pay close attention to the margins, looking for places where Republicans run well behind their historical performances. Moran concludes that a win for James Talarico, the Democratic Texas state Representative, "would be a political earthquake," adding that he will be at Talarico's headquarters on election night.