How things have changed for Donald Trump in a year. Right after his second inauguration, the world was kneeling in his presence. The Republican Party had become the party of Trump, and no one dared to cross the master. And the Democrats, who had sabotaged their own presidential campaign, were looking to curry favors with the almighty Trump.

Foreign leaders, both adversaries and allies, were trying their best to ingratiate themselves with the Teflon Don. Gifts poured in from everywhere while Stephen Miller and Elon Musk were illegally destroying Congressionally funded agencies. Their blitzkrieg left Democrats and the courts stammering and confused. But today, due to the president’s shortsighted policies, revelations of Trump family graft, and his failing mental acuity, much of the world sees the president very differently.

Trump Takes Some Hard Hits at Home

When Trump innocently accepted an invitation from New York Knicks owner James Dolan to join him at Madison Square Garden (MSG) for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, no one thought anything of it. Trump, ever the attention hog, had been showing up regularly at national sporting events since his return to office. Some people thought it would be a homecoming of sorts for the president. He had been a larger-than-life presence in the Big Apple for more than three decades.

But Dolan wasn’t taking any chances. He decided the safe thing to do was to introduce the president during the national anthem. Who could boo Trump during the Star-Spangled Banner? As it turns out, almost everybody in attendance at MSG that evening. And not only the attendees inside the Garden, but also those at the watch party in Bryant Park and other watch parties scattered around the five boroughs. All the president could do after that was take a couple of naps and feed his face with pizza and French fries.

And Trump’s goal of remaking the nation’s capital in his image has run into several roadblocks. Congress has denied him the funds he needs to complete his Grand Ballroom. A judge ordered his name removed from the front of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They left the tarps up covering the name, but who’s counting? His efforts to revive the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial have turned its surface into a green algae-infested muck.

And there is almost universal opposition to his desire to place his Triumphal Arch blocking the Lincoln Memorial in order to honor slaveholding Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Most of the musicians he had scheduled for his Freedom 250 Festival declined his invitation to perform, causing him to cancel all the event’s musical acts.

And his pride and joy, the UFC Freedom 2025 fight card organized to celebrate his 80th birthday, was supported by only 16% of poll respondents, with 46% declaring they were opposed to the event.

No Help Abroad

Trump’s appearances at international conferences and state visits have always been cringeworthy. Given his brusque, rude mannerisms, his ignorance of international customs and rituals, and his oversized ego, these events have provided an open stage to embarrass not only himself but our country as well.

This past G7 Summit was no exception. It started with his death-grip handshake with French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte. For some reason, he just couldn’t or wouldn’t release her hand from his clutches.

Next, a hot-mic moment between Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was picked up by the press.  Macron was heard describing an earlier interaction with Trump as follows. “Yesterday, we had a difficult discussion in front of the camera.” And to the White House’s chagrin, photographers covering the event continued to focus on Trump’s physical appearance. Observers noted the president’s hoarse voice, a limp handshake from a bruised hand, and swollen ankles.

And at Wednesday’s meeting of the G7 leaders, Trump strolled in 45 minutes late and proclaimed that he was “the boss” as he was walking toward his seat. He immediately disrupted the meeting, complaining that his chair was too low. And throughout the meeting, he kept whining about the room temperature. In the end, Macon lured the president into a more hospitable view of Ukraine by showing him photos of the remnants of Kyiv’s Dormition Cathedral burning after a Russian airstrike.

Iran MOU Does Not Help

And then there is the backlash, including from Senate Republicans, that Trump is receiving over the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) he is negotiating with Iran. The agreement appears to be a retreat from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that President Barack Obama signed with the Iranians in 2015. Most people in Washington and around the country believe that the Iranians are the winners of this deal.

As Trump does, he is already refusing to take responsibility for the terms, even though he has already signed the MOU. Vice President JD Vance, who was headed to Geneva on Friday to negotiate terms of the agreement, has already been thrown under the bus by his boss. Which is ironic because the vice president is the most non-interventionist member of his administration. As with all things with the president in 2026, he can run, but he can’t hide.