Allies of President Donald Trump are worrying that the president has never been more isolated than he is now and as a result, is increasingly out of touch with what the public wants from him, reports Jonathan Lemire in The Atlantic.
Noting Trump's penchant for hosting rallies, Lemire writes that " it has been many months since Trump hosted a full-on campaign-style rally."
Instead of rallying support with his dwindling base, Lemire says, Trump has, instead, chosen " to travel abroad, golf at his private clubs, and dine with wealthy friends, business leaders, and major donors."
"Beyond the rallies, Trump has dramatically scaled back speeches, public events, and domestic travel compared with the first year of his initial term," he writes.
"And that lack of regular voter contact has contributed to a growing fear among Republicans and White House allies: that Trump is too isolated, and has become out of touch with what the public wants from its president," he adds.
Trump's "bubble" has him ensconsed in places far away from his MAGA base, he writes.
"But in his return to the presidency this year, Trump has seldom ventured across the country to anywhere other than his own clubs. He also inhabits something of a news silo, watching far-right cable channels such as One America News and Newsmax along with Fox News," Lemire notes.
The isolation has Trump believing he's doing a great job, despite the obvious that points to otherwise, Lemire says.
"Everyone around Trump, and everything he is seeing on TV and on his phone, is telling him that he’s right. But poll after poll suggests that Americans believe Trump is now getting it wrong and has lost focus on what got him elected," he writes.
Trump's tone-deafness has started to rattle those closest to him, too.
"People voted for him to lower prices, to bring manufacturing back, to stand up to those taking advantage of them,” a close Trump ally tells Lemire anonymously. “They didn’t vote for him to build a damn gilded ballroom. He’s not hearing them.”
Lemire notes that Trump's also not seeing them, writing, that he "looked at Trump’s travel schedule from the fall of 2017, the first year of his initial term, to compare it with this fall’s, and I was surprised by the drop-off."
"Back then, he traveled into the country more than a dozen times from September to November to talk with energy workers in North Dakota, rally support in Alabama for a Senate candidate, and explain his agenda directly to his supporters. During that same stretch this year, he barely traveled at all," he notes.
"This fall, he’s ventured beyond the Washington, D.C., metro area; his New Jersey golf club; and Florida, the home of Mar-a-Lago, only five times. Four of those domestic trips were to New York, including three to hang out with rich friends in luxury boxes at sporting events," he adds.
Trump has, however, made four international trips this term, as compared to one at the same time during his first, he notes.
"Some of his most loyal MAGA supporters, such as Laura Loomer and Steven Bannon, urged him to curb the globe-trotting and instead focus on issues at home," he writes.
Despite plans for Trump to get back on the American road, they never happened, Lemire says.
"He turned his attention overseas and, desperate for a Nobel Peace Prize, scheduled a summit in Alaska with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, while pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza," he writes.
Republicans aren't happy, he notes.
"As summer turned to fall, Republicans wondered if Trump would show up in New Jersey or Virginia to campaign for candidates for governor, and tell his supporters to vote in the year’s most closely watched bellwether races," he explains.
"Instead the president attended only a pair of virtual rallies for the candidates—the exact sort of low-energy move for which Trump used to mock Joe Biden—which drove far less media coverage than a Trump arena rally would have and were less likely to motivate those who weren’t already planning to vote," he adds.
After both Republican candidates lost in those states, Republicans sounded the alarms.
"But the weeks since have brought little sign that Trump has changed his focus," Lemire says.
"The Republicans want Trump, even with low poll numbers, back on the road in 2026 to persuade the voters who tend to turn out only for him to support other Republicans," he adds.
But Trump's isolation continues, despite their demands, Lemire notes, much to their detriment.
"Trump remains in the MAGA echo chamber even when he’s alone in the White House residence or the private dining room off the Oval Office," he says.