Trump’s power is at its peak. He has reason to be fearful of what’s coming

July 22, 2026 — 5:00am

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Typically, when an American president gives a major speech from the White House, like Donald Trump did last Thursday, much of the world stops to pay attention.

Trump has changed the presidency in many ways. One has been the devaluing of these direct-to-the-nation addresses, to the point that three major American TV channels refused to carry his 27-minute speech live for fear of broadcasting high-powered misinformation.

The president primarily used his address to reiterate old, unsubstantiated claims that China manipulated votes in the 2020 election and complaints of a “deep state” influence on America. The limited documents he posted on the White House website during the speech provided no new information about these claims.

This was Trump’s first major speech since voters began to pay attention to the coming US midterm elections. Under the surface, it appeared to be aimed at the coalition of conservatives he has courted since 2015, offering them familiar enemies and a reminder of the danger to their political project if they let him down in the coming poll.

Trump has many reasons to be worried. His approval rating sits around 40 per cent. About 61 per cent of Americans believes that the economy will get worse in the near future. Consumer confidence is down dramatically from the beginning of Trump’s term. Despite those dismal........

© Brisbane Times