Donald Trump is lost in his own lies
Very early this morning, while most of the country had just started waking up, an interview featuring a sluggish President of the United States was published not even a full day after it was recorded. Filmed deep inside the White House, Donald Trump struggled with slurred speech and to stay calm as he answered questions. At one point, he shared that “a lot of people are saying I’m one of the greatest presidents ever.” But mostly he spent those thirty-one minutes building up his defense for when his party loses both chambers of Congress after the midterms, and letting the world know what he really thinks of the Republican Party.
When journalist Jake Sherman from Punchbowl News asked whether Republican voters would actually turn out for an election without him on the ballot, Trump replied, “A lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you.” When Sherman asked why, Trump said he didn’t know, but also added: “They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.” And he kept digging deeper to make sure that everyone understood exactly what he was saying. He declared MAGA “my beautiful MAGA base, the greatest people on earth.”
Donald Trump does not and never has really seen himself as a Republican. The Republican Party was just the vehicle he used to get where he wanted to go. He has switched parties at least five times. He was a registered Democrat for eight years before he joined the Reform Party. He has never been loyal to the Republican label. He has been loyal to whatever party would carry him closest to power. And maybe most Republicans knew this all along, and chose to stay silent when he fully commandeered the party because they thought their submission and loyalty would earn them a permanent seat at his table. They are now fully grasping that he is incapable of letting that happen. He is slowly turning on them like he has turned on so many before them. Because that is what he does. He is loyal to no one but himself. He will use people for as long as they are useful to him. And the moment things start going wrong, like how the midterms are projected to be, he will blame them to save himself.
When Sherman asked him about the mounting criticism that he does not really care whether Republicans keep their majority or not, Trump declared. “I’d love to win,” as if the midterms were only about him, but also said this, “I said to somebody, wait a minute, you don’t understand, I won. I’m not campaigning.” Because he thinks the midterms will not be pretty for Republicans, he wants everyone to know this is not his race. He already won his, and if Republicans win this one, he will take the credit. But if they lose, he is saying that it is their problem, not his.
When he was asked about the $800 million MAGA Inc. super PAC, Trump interrupted Sherman before he was even finished asking the question. Sherman asked Trump about the PAC “that your allies control.” Trump immediately corrected him with, “Not my allies. I control it.” When Sherman pressed him about spending that large sum of money, Trump didn’t hold back. He responded back, “I could spend it on pretty much anything I want.” Before adding, “I’m going to help Republicans.” He said it as though he, himself, isn’t a Republican and he was helping other people.
He couldn’t let the moment go, so he took a few moments for threats and to stir up fear. “If the Senate doesn’t get smart,” Trump said, “I may be the last Republican president.” Sherman responded: “That’s a big statement.” And Trump followed up with, “Yeah, I’m not sure it’s right, but who knows? We’ll see.”
When asked whether Democrats are more vicious than Republicans, Trump’s answer once again pointed to the Republican Party, and away from himself, if they lose. “I think the Republicans are too nice, actually,” he said. “I think the Republicans are much nicer. I think the Republicans are much more gentle than the Democrats.” And then, when referring to the Democrats, he added, “They’re smart. They’re vicious. But they have really bad policy.” He told us that he admires the other party for being “smart” and at the same time decided it was appropriate to call his own party weak.
Throughout the entire interview, Sherman had to keep redirecting Trump back to answer his questions. At one point, Trump started to ramble on about China and energy, and brought up wind power out of the blue. Sherman interrupted him, saying, “I don’t understand your obsession with that.” Trump didn’t know how to respond to his comment, so he mumbled something about subsidies and that people don’t understand business.
And then Sherman asked the question Trump must be spending a lot of his time thinking about lately, how, if Democrats take over the House, will there be major investigations and could they impeach Trump again. He asked him directly, “Do you think they will?” Trump’s response once again had nothing to do with what he was being asked. He said, “Well, a lot of people are saying I’m one of the greatest presidents ever.” Sherman quickly added, “They’re not saying that, though.” And Trump muttered, “But they know,” and “They see the results.”
He is right; we are seeing the results, and people are not wanting to call him “one of the greatest presidents ever.” Because the very same day that the interview was released, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the July jobs report, and the results were very bad for Trump.
The report showed that the economy had lost 23,000 jobs. Economists had forecast a gain of nearly 100,000 jobs. The unemployment rate went down to 4.1 percent, but it did not drop in a good way. It went down because 264,000 Americans simply left the labor force. They did not find jobs. They just stopped looking entirely. Heather Long, the chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, called the report “bleak” and said, “the labor market is stalling again.”
Last year, in August of 2025, Donald Trump fired the past commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after it reported weak numbers. At the time, he called the figures “rigged” and he nominated a Heritage Foundation economist who had previously suggested that the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly jobs report to replace the person he had removed.
The reality that Donald Trump keeps trying to sell us is nothing like what is really happening, but he never stops trying. Towards the end of the interview, he said “this is the golden age of America” and that “what’s being built now in this country has never ever been built.” This is clearly not the golden age. The country is hurting across public health. We have major issues with trust in our elected officials. People are struggling to find enough work to pay their ever-increasing bills. It doesn’t matter how Donald Trump pretends things are different, the reality we are all living in, and the numbers, tell the truth.
Americans are hurting. The world is hurting. And Donald Trump is not just to blame, but he is hellbent on continuing the suffering. This is the part that I am struggling to put into words because it is painful to say. But I don’t know how else we get through to the people who still refuse to see what is happening. Things are probably going to have to get a lot worse before they get better. More Americans are going to lose their jobs, and food is going to get even more expensive. Health care is going to become even more of a disaster with higher costs and less access. And that is just the beginning of the even darker days we could have ahead of us. Some of the people who voted for Donald Trump still believe he is fighting for them and that somehow all of this pain is being caused by someone else, or that it is just temporary, like he keeps repeating. They are most likely going to have to experience it themselves before they finally understand that they were lied to and that Trump does nothing for anyone but Trump. It is very hard to think about how bad this could get before it gets better.
We are hearing from an increasing number of Trump loyalists. From people who supported the president and are now being hurt by the very things they voted for. And from the sound of it, this seems to be what is finally starting to break through. Because Donald Trump can tell people the economy is incredible as many times as he wants, and he can tell us everyone loves him and that he is one of the greatest presidents who ever lived. But eventually people will stop listening when the reality of their situations becomes too much to ignore.
As hard as this time is for so many of us, we have an unexpected advantage on our side. Timing. This is all starting to break open right now, just 88 days before the midterms. And that means we still have time to change course for our country. This election could completely change the balance of power in Washington, peacefully, using the tools allotted to us in the Constitution. Our country is not too far gone; we still have a way out of this. The world is counting on us, and future generations are depending on us. We can’t let any of them down, and I know we won’t. That is why I still have hope for America. And you should, too.
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
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This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Picture of the day: My daughter and I enjoyed cupcake iced lattes. They were adorable and worth the hype!
Sources:
EXCLUSIVE: President Trump has a message for Congress: YouTube Video
https://punchbowl.news/article/fly-out-day/trump-interview-fly-out-day/
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/07/economy/us-jobs-report-july
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/july-2026-jobs-report-rcna591138
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
https://abcnews.com/Business/ej-antoni-trumps-pick-lead-bls/story?id=124579471
https://www.alternet.org/trump-2026-2677670917/
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/trump-thune-senate-gop-leader/
I can't decide how much of this is because he's a crook, and how much is because he really does believe his own lies. Both pretty damning conclusions, either likely to result in an effective impeachment.
“… what’s being built now in this country has never ever been built.” Time and time again, he states something which is the opposite of reality. The only thing building in this country are his bank accounts, and bitcoins, because everything is being torn down.