Analyst says Trump is lashing out as humiliation mounts
Key Takeaways
- •Trump faced criticism after a $16 million pool renovation produced an algae-green result and led to the arrest of Olympic canoeist David Hearn, whose charges were later dropped.
- •Authorities later concluded that the pool damage came from a faulty installation rather than vandalism.
- •After a Qatari-jet replacement tied to Air Force One was pulled from a flight near Iran, subpoenas targeting New York Times reporters were issued and then withdrawn after a federal judge intervened.
- •The article says Trump’s public blowups are linked in part to his stalled war with Iran, which has continued for six months despite his repeated claims of victory.
- •Jonathan Lemire warned that the pressure from these humiliations could make Trump’s next move harder to predict.
President Donald Trump has finally lost his "shamelessness" and is now facing everyday humiliation, Jonathan Lemire wrote for The Atlantic on Wednesday.
Confronted with that reality, Trump is lashing out at anyone and everyone he can to assign blame.
After Trump's rushed $16 million renovation turned the water an algae-green disaster just in time for the nation's birthday, he needed someone to blame. He settled on 67-year-old Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was arrested after simply reaching down to touch the failing pool. When evidence later showed that a botched installation, not vandalism, caused the damage, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office moved to drop the charges. Trump still erupted, attacking his own loyal ally on social media.
A similar episode played out over Air Force One. After Trump's Qatari-jet replacement was pulled from a flight near Iran over security concerns, and The New York Times reported it, Trump had subpoenas issued against Times reporters demanding their phone records and sources. The Justice Department ultimately withdrew those subpoenas after a federal judge intervened.
The pattern matters because it shows how quickly a political embarrassment can turn into a legal, media, or personal fight when the president is trying to control the story. Insiders say both blowups stem partly from a deeper humiliation Trump cannot control: his stalled war with Iran, now dragging into its sixth month despite repeated declarations of victory that have not materialized. One Republican lawmaker called the pool saga "the dumbest controversy of his term," while conceding that it at least distracts from bigger problems.
Lemire warned that this humiliation could make the president unpredictable.
"He’s made the war deeply personal," he wrote. "Will he now bail on the stalled war entirely, leaving Iran more empowered in the region? Will he follow through on his threats to dramatically escalate the conflict, perhaps even to strike civilian infrastructure and energy sites? Or will he channel his rage against Americans who point out his mistakes?"
