It took six months into President Trump’s second term to get here, but something shifted in Trump World this month. The administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case — including its assertion that a “client list” doesn’t exist — sent tremors through the MAGA ecosystem, creating a permission structure for key players on the right to start treating Trump like a lame duck.

This was a significant development, even though there are obvious reasons to view Trump this way. Constitutional limits prevent him from running again after 2024. That alone creates an expiration date on his relevance that even the most obsequious loyalists can’t ignore forever.

Then there’s the Epstein connection, which didn’t just put a fresh stink on an already scandal-soaked politician. It found him on the wrong side of a definitive MAGA narrative. It’s one thing to be indicted multiple times; it’s quite another to be entangled in the biggest conspiracy theory of our era.

But there’s something else in the air: Trump looks old. We may have grown accustomed to his ALL CAPS rants, but the physical symptoms are harder to normalize — the swollen ankles. The makeup caked awkwardly on his hands.

Taken together — the reality of Trump’s lame-duck status, being out of touch with much of his base and now the physical deterioration — we are left with a picture of a man whose once iron-clad grip on his party is finally beginning to loosen.

The base might not say it outright. MAGA influencers certainly won’t admit it — but they absolutely see........

© The Hill