“These are the times that try men’s souls” Thomas Paine in 1776. Some 249 years later this statement could well describe what is taking place in America today. Events are moving fast as Trump and his Republican Party (MAGA) confront the 2026 election. An event Trump knows will determine just how lame a duck he will be.
Even before Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene cut the cord with Trump Friday evening factions were forming against Trump policies. A fight for future control of MAGA (Republican Party) is on. Disagreement with Trump’s policies is growing even among his most loyal supporters. This is about the 2028 presidential election.
Americans are being tried as they see spiking health insurance premiums…congressional incumbent Republicans facing voters in 2026 are being tried since they voted for this (as a result). Trump knows keeping control of the U. S. House of Representatives for his final years in office…is more important to him than the outcome of the 2028 presidential election.
Can you imagine Trump is taking political advice from Vladimir Putin! During their August 2025 Alaska meeting Putin told Trump that mail-in voting makes honest elections impossible. Immediately Trump hit social media that vote-by-mail was dishonest. This fits right in with an Executive Order Trump signed in March including sweeping changes to how elections are conducted. Legal observers argue it oversteps presidential authority and intrudes on states’ rights to administer elections. Trump said federal funding could be withheld from states that don’t comply.
Voter approval of President Trump’s economy has fallen 15 points since March. He has not delivered on lowering the cost of living and Americans can’t find his $2.00 gas! These are trying times for American families.
Contributing to difficult times is the uncertainty of what will come out of Trump’s mouth. He accused six Democratic Senators of “seditious behavior” and said they should face death.
Thomas Paine got it right 249 years ago when he wrote “…these are the times that try men’s souls”.