MS NOW host Nicolle Wallace on Tuesday highlighted just how “erratic” President Donald Trump has behaved in recent days, arguing his antics and fixations are increasingly ruining America’s standing, as its enemies and allies around the world are beginning to notice.
“Donald Trump has never really been known for logical or cogent conduct in public, something his defenders claim as part of his madman appeal,” Wallace said during her opening “Deadline: White House” monologue.
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The MS NOW host continued, “But in Trump 2.0, that erratic behavior, that madman persona, is getting a lot weirder and a lot more frequent and a lot more public. Our allies and adversaries alike are beginning to take notice.”
Wallace began by arguing that the MAGA leader doesn’t even know “who’s standing next to him” anymore, noting Trump struggled Monday to point out Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti during a White House event immediately after being introduced alongside him.
She then noted Trump shared 12 social media posts in less than two hours on Tuesday, including an AI-generated image of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) swimming in what appeared to be feces in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
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Trump announced last month that he would renovate the pool for $1.8 million, a cost that has reportedly risen to $13.1 million. He’s also fixated on his approximately $400 million White House ballroom project, with Senate Republicans seeking $1 billion from taxpayers for security “upgrades.”
“Today we learned that the inflation rate skyrocketed at its fastest rate in three years, as sharp increases in energy costs caused by Donald Trump’s war in Iran drove up prices for American consumers,” Wallace said.
“Donald Trump’s obsession with his golden ballroom and bright blue-painted reflecting pool, as Americans struggle to pay their bills, is intended, we suppose, into turning him into some, I don’t know, great renovator or political figure in America’s story,” she continued.
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These seemingly domestic issues now appear to be having an impact overseas.
A Beijing think tank stated in a report earlier this year that Trump — with his tariffs, immigration agenda and assaults on the U.S. political establishment — has “inadvertently strengthened China while weakening the United States,” according to The New York Times.
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New York Times reporter Michael Crowley told Wallace that U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran “don’t have to worry about democracy.” He noted that Trump certainly does, and arrived in China for a state visit on Wednesday without much leverage.
“Xi Jinping is not going anywhere anytime soon, but he looks at President Trump, knowing that the Constitution prevents him from running for office again,” said Crowley. “We’ll see whether Trump tries to ignore that or not.”
He continued, “But certainly, he cares about the midterm elections and the plight of Republicans. So, Xi Jinping knows that he has that leverage, as well, and he also knows that the Iranians have that leverage over President Trump — that they have time.”
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