Trump’s Downward Escalator | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, July 11, 2026

Friends,

Welcome back to our 250th-plus-one-week anniversary edition! Hope you have had a good week, despite the cacophony out of Washington.

Today, Heather and I try to understand the real source of Trump’s power — his power to berate the heads of state at this week’s NATO and yet have them defer to him. His power to conduct a war in Iran that’s increasingly bogged down and which the American people don’t support. And his power to keep Republicans in Congress quietly neutered while much of his Republican base is outraged at his never-ending war, the soaring prices of gas and groceries, and his continuing refusal to release half of the Epstein files.

Trump is on an escalator heading downward at great speed, but his power seems to be intact. Why? We’ll get into that. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

Robert Reich

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