Trump is running against the clock
Plus: Hegseth fiasco, Trump $1 coin, Keir Starmer's woe, Saudi comedy fest
In January, days after Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time, British analyst Andrew Payne noted the president’s “extraordinary degree of political power.”
“Some describe him as a dictator, a king, or even an emperor—and for now, that perception is not entirely unfounded.” But Payne predicted that “no leader, not even Trump, is immune to the constraints of political time.”
“As a second-term president, his authority faces an unavoidable expiration date. Unless he succeeds in changing the Constitution—an unlikely prospect—his presidency will end in four years.” Payne also cited the Republicans’ “razor-thin” margins in the House and Senate as a huge limitation on Trump’s power, along with the predictable emergence of a contest among Republicans to succeed Trump in the 2028 election.
For the last eight months, T…
