End of reign of error? Expect Veto Corleone

Over his two presidencies, Donald Trump has aired his fondness for the poker term, 'to hold all the cards', many times. And in his cult of recklessness, he did 'hold all the cards' - until Wednesday's confirmation of how much he has overplayed his hand. On inflation, on tariffs, on military adventurism, on MAGA Republicanism. His name may not have been on any midterm ballot on Tuesday, but Trumpism was on test, and has been found short. Trump's overreach - despite his grab being the very thing that made him appealing to so many Americans in the first place - has been called out and resisted.

While Robespierre may not be the first name that comes to mind when thinking of Trump, the first blade has come down on America's Reign of Error. Trump's response was a display of a red MAGA cap bearing the one word, 'Veto'. This only confirms the 'Veto Corleone' aspect of Donald Lame Duck, where Congress will make offers he will constantly refuse. The presidential veto is undoubtedly powerful. But as we've seen in his spree of executive orders and rent-a-tariff, it's a defensive weapon, not a governing strategy. Which makes the next two years potentially more dangerous than the preceding two.

Trump, constitutionally obliged to relinquish office in Jan 2029, is not temperamentally inclined to go gently into that good night. With a midterm knock, expect institutional sabotage, executive adventurism, manufactured emergencies, and an increasingly loud insistence on 'vote chori'. So, declaring Trumpism dead would be premature. Its grievances, resentments and considerable electoral constituency will outlive this cease-and-desist verdict. Trumpism is tough to put back in its bottle. But a smarter version can be remade in America's image, not in Trump's.