If you look at what Donald Trump is posting on Truth Social, he seems pretty darned angry and unhappy. He should be rejoicing that the late night shows that he hates so much are not broadcasting new episodes reporting and mocking his latest missteps. Seth Meyers is in the middle of an unprecedented seven week hiatus. Meyers is doing occasional podcasts but he's not on each night lambasting Donald. Meyers' next new episode seems to be scheduled for September 21.
The Daily Show is on a five-week hiatus. It'll be back September 8, the same night Jimmy Kimmel is scheduled to return. John Oliver is on a brief vacation. Saturday Night Live is in reruns until September 26. Fallon is off for I-don't-know-how-long. (I don't think Trump is particularly enraged when Fallon ridicules him.)
The Oval Office Inhabitant does have much to be upset about with polls saying he's about as popular as Urinary Tract Infections. And what probably worries him most is that a lot of MAGA folks don't seem to be under his spell the way they once were. Paying record prices for food and gas can do that to you. Here's a link to an on-target (I think) article by Ben Jacobs and here's a key paragraph from it…
Throughout his political career, Trump's signature skill has been to drive the conversation where he wanted it to go. He declares victory when things have not been won. He ducks attribution with the rhetorical tic "many people are saying," frequently followed by things that people are decidedly not saying. He posts outrageous graphics on social media. And, of course, he renames things: Political opponents get nicknames, buildings get Trump's name, and bodies of water get America's name. For the past decade of political life, moves like those have been enough to commandeer news cycles, sometimes for days or even weeks. Except, of late, it's running out of steam.
And then he goes on to give examples. Oh — and while you're over there on Slate, check out this from our guy Fred Kaplan…
A remarkable story in Monday's Washington Post dramatizes how deeply the Iran war has degraded the U.S. military's ability to fend off attacks by adversaries elsewhere in the world. The story is based on the leak of a little-known classified document, which itself signifies that we've reached a new stage in the growing turmoil among the senior officer corps over the chaotic reign of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The leaked document reveals that the three four-star commanders in charge of U.S. military operations in Europe, the Pacific, and South America, as well as the Navy's top admiral, all informed Hegseth that because so many of their planes, ships, and other weapons systems have been diverted to the war in Iran, they could no longer perform their tasks if a war broke out in their part of the world.
If there's one issue that matters most to the kind of folks who support Trump, it's having a kick-ass military that can defend us anywhere against anything. This news will not make them happy.