Trump Faces Mounting Pressure as Iran War and Approval Numbers Hit

The MeidasTouch podcast opens with a cascade of overlapping crises: Donald Trump’s approval rating has hit a historic low, Iran has retaliated hard after U.S. strikes on civilian tankers, and the Republican National Convention in Dallas is shaping up as a sparsely attended affair that the former president is trying to spin as exclusive rather than abandoned.

The Dallas Convention and a Party in Retreat

The Republican National Convention in Dallas is sold out, according to Trump, but the reality is that over 90% of MAGA Republicans will not be speaking or attending. Trump posted that the event is for candidates in tight races, not for those up by 45 points who have been in office for 30 years. The hosts frame this as damage control: no one wants to be seen with him. The convention’s focus, they report, is on masculinity and alpha behavior, with MAGA activists Scott Pressler, Brian Holly, and Benny Johnson sent to make the Texas Senate race a referendum on masculinity. RNC Chair Joe Gruters is heard in a clip dismissing challenger Colin Allred as a radical who believes in “six genders” and wants to “mutilate our kids,” even as RealClearPolitics shows Allred up by 2.5 points. Gruters tells listeners not to trust the polls, because if they had, Trump would never have been president.

The Iran Escalation and a Half-Billion-Dollar Day