Trump a 'diminished leader making a last stand': analysis

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he departs for Asia from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 24, 2025. REUTERS Kylie Cooper.jpg

President Donald Trump is taking the code out of the southern strategy used by Richard Nixon and other past presidents as a weakened, unpopular and desperate leader who is making a last stand before the midterm elections, according to a new analysis.

In a CNN analysis published Wednesday, senior politics reporter Stephen Collinson says that Trump is exploiting racial and religious division in a way never seen before in a bid to keep struggling Republicans in a majority.

Collinson used examples of past presidents, such as Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, who used racial anxiety for political advantage but usually did so through coded or metaphorical language.

He then argues that "Trump doesn’t do such subtlety."

He says the president has made immigration, religion, gender and identity politics a core part of his messaging to voters. Collinson argues that by Trump attacking Muslim Democrats, he is warning that America faces cultural destruction if the GOP loses power.

At a Monday rally in Kansas, Trump said: “Americans are going to stand up and declare that we will protect our civilization, we will preserve our religion, our values and our heritage, and we will never let our nation be conquered or destroyed by people that hate us.”

He also accused Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton, who is a Methodist pastor, of telling white people to repent for their race.

The report states that Trump's description of Hamilton's remark is a misrepresentation, "but getting the details right is hardly the point."

One of Trump’s favorite targets is Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, an American-born Muslim. He has called him a jihadist, and during the Kansas event, he used the antisemitic term Shylock while defending Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

Trump’s outright dog whistles come as GOP candidates are facing heated races in districts that were deemed safely red before the president’s unpopular policies left them scrambling to hold their seats.

His campaign appearances have increasingly focused on identity politics even though most GOP candidates have acknowledged voters' concerns are about the high cost of living and economic anxiety.

Collinson suggested the president’s approach is a sign of desperation rather than strength.

In previous campaigns, Trump's attacks on perceived outsiders worked in his favor, but with his disastrous approval ratings, Collinson argues, the strategy now shows he is a "diminished leader making a last stand" instead of a president capable of persuading voters to get to the polls.

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has joined a chorus of Republicans questioning Trump’s strategy.

"They're worried about affordability. They're worried about inflation," Sanford said to CNN's Erin Burnett on Tuesday.

Sanford also said he believes the gender politics, or specifically “false stories about transgender kids,” won’t convince swing voters

The analysis concludes that Trump's foreign war, economic management, and performance have effectively diminished his sway with voters that once led him to the top.

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