Trump knows 'he’s dying' and he wants it all — quickly: analysis

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

President Donald Trump may believe himself to be dying and is acting without regard to his popularity for that reason.

That, at least, is the theory promulgated by commentators Wajahat Ali and Allison Gill in a Tuesday post on their Substack called The Left Hook.

“Trump is decaying, both in body and popularity,” Ali and Gill wrote. “The nearly 80-year-old vulgarian is a diminished man with historically low favorability ratings. He has dragged the GOP down with him. His actions are more reflective of a paranoid, weak King who knows his end is near and is desperately trying to sandbag against the vengeful wave that is about to topple his kingdom.”

They pointed out that, thanks to Trump’s plummeting approval ratings, Republican lawmakers like Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) are more comfortable standing up to the president on key issues. More broadly, South Carolina Republicans have defied Trump in his attempt to gerrymander their state, grand juries are defying Trump’s politically-motivated prosecutions and federal Republicans are refusing to go along with Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund to “subsidise the retirement of violent insurrectionists.” Perhaps most notably, “Trump voters are fleeing after he betrayed his promise of bringing down costs, releasing the Epstein Files, and ending forever wars.”

In a video accompanying their text article, the two pundits elaborated on their analysis. Ali pointed out that Trump has entirely erased the advantages he held in the 2024 election among Hispanic voters and young voters, and has even started to lose support among his base of white voters.

“MAGA is still loyal — it's a cult, it's a shrinking cult, folks,” Ali said. “And it goes to the point of what's happened in the past two to three months. I think he's betrayed them on three core promises. He promised, ‘Vote for me, inflation will go down.’ His dumbass, with the self-inflicted wound of his trade wars and his Iran war situation, has made everything go up.”

He added, “Speaking of the Iran war — second betrayal: no more forever wars. Apparently we're just having wars left and right. And then the third one was, ‘I'm going to show you that liberals are part of the deep state — they're raping everyone, I'm going to release the Epstein files.’ Oh, guess who's mentioned more in the Epstein files? Him.”

Ali then focused on an issue that has not received as much attention in terms of Trump’s declining popularity, namely, his ongoing support of unregulated AI.

“I'll also say to that point — on the AI issue — I have seen in the past two months a bipartisan, growing rage against AI and AI data centers,” Ali said. “People really feel this, and I think we're seeing that play out in the candidates people are selecting in more local races. Even in rural America, they hate these data centers.”

In their text article, Ali and Gill argued that Trump is avoiding these realities by surrounding himself with an inner circle that does not challenge him, but that he cannot will these political problems away.

“Since sychophants surround Trump, he is insulated from reality and can ‘blink’ his way through the chaos,” Ali and Gill said. “However, we can clearly see the Emperor has no clothes and is suffering from swollen cankles and massive bruises on his palms. Trump just went to Walter Reed Hospital for the third physical of his second term, but don’t worry, he’s SUPER healthy, and there’s nothing to worry about.”

They continued by writing that although Trump wants to distract America from his controversies by having a UFC match near the White House, they concluded that “we truly live in the dumbest country, but the majority is finally, finally waking up.”

Ali and Gill are not alone in saying that those who still support Trump are acting like they are in a cult. In February, former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), who used to avidly support Trump, explained that those who still do so reveal themselves to be cult-like.

“I thought you wanted him to end wars all over the world,” Walsh said. “You said you wanted him to end American entanglement in conflicts and wars around the world. America shouldn’t be involved in these wars, you said. That’s why you’re voting for Trump, you said.” Yet despite his belligerence toward Denmark, Venezuela and Iran, these people overwhelmingly still back him.

“And you don’t like when people call you a cult, Trump voters?” Walsh argued. “What else are people to think when you voted for Trump to get us the hell out of wars around the world, and instead he gets us involved in wars around the world and starts new wars, and you still sing his praises and support him? What are we to think, MAGA, but that you are a cult?”

He continued, “You’ve got no argument against people calling you a cult. And if he takes us to war against Iran, and you clap and applaud and throw him flowers, Trump supporters, I will be at the front of the parade calling you a cult.”

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