By Simon Marks

Big Ben has not yet ushered in the New Year, but I can already tell you that in the United States, 2026 is going to be a humdinger.

In July, we’ll be celebrating America’s 250th birthday and hosting (at least part of) the World Cup. And it won’t only be the England and Scotland fans that are on the edge of their seats as the year advances. For Democrats, it’s going to be a nail-biter as well, with hope springing eternal that the mid-term elections in November will give them a fresh chance to impeach President Donald Trump yet again, and tie him up in knots for his remaining time in office.

2025 ends with both the president and his opponents in the doldrums. Trump’s approval rating fell below 40 per cent in the final Reuters/Ipsos poll of the year. A mere 31 per cent of voters approve of his handling of the economy, and that’s a huge problem for Republicans and their leader given the importance pocketbook issues will play in the minds of the electorate as one-third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives come up for grabs.

But polling for the Democrats makes even grimmer reading. A mere 18 per cent of voters approve of the job Congressional Democrats are doing, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll published last week. Voters are meting out punishment to an opposition that has largely vanished since last year’s presidential election.

In the 2024 campaign, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris darkly warned that the country’s political system would not survive a second Trump term. Voters were told the stakes could not be any higher if they wanted to preserve America’s governing arrangements.

But after Trump’s win, the party disappeared into purdah, even announcing recently that it........

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