David Pakman

And now he did.

And his voters are saying this isn't what I voted for.

So we've got two things happening at once that are fascinating.

And Republicans are going to have to figure out what on earth to do in advance of the 2026 midterms.

You've got voters peeling away.

And you have the reason why they're peeling away, becoming clearer and clearer.

And this is how it looks in politics when you lose control.

It's not overnight.

It's quiet.

It's people slowly reconsidering and saying maybe that maybe I'm not getting exactly what I voted for and it's not looking right.

I'm going to disconnect from this movement for some period of time.

Now, let me mention one other layer that is arguably even more important when a political leader loses control like this, especially when it's an aging political leader.

We've seen this in authoritarian countries before.

Something happens behind the scenes, which is that the people around them start planning for what comes next.

There's a succession planning that takes place out of earshot of the dear leader.

We know this from authoritarian systems.

The leader starts to look weak.

The coalition is fracturing and the decisions are erratic and the leaders doing the opposite of what they promised.

The inner circle changes its behavior and starts thinking not about loyalty to Trump, which is like what they've mostly been thinking about.

They start to think about survival.