A Moment Of Clarity: "President Donald Trump? He's a lame duck!"

The Michael Steele Podcast

The Bulwark

History, News, Government, Politics

4.8 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Policy is supposed to be about people, but often, it becomes about ego. Michael Steele analyzes whether President Trump’s recent decisions are driven by a long-term vision for the country—or a desperate attempt to curate a legacy. From the influence of the inner circle to the shifting tides of public opinion, he's peeling back the curtain on how isolation at the top changes the future for the rest of us.

12.16.25 - MS NOW

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And now for a moment of clarity.
0:05.0	He is just completely insulated.
0:09.0	He's only surrounded by his billionaire friends and then folks at the White House who are telling him probably what he wants to hear.
0:15.0	Majority of the time, I do think that he's got some people who are telling him.
0:19.0	I do believe that Susie Wiles is in his ear saying that this
0:22.3	is a crisis for the American people when it comes to affordability, but he just doesn't want to
0:27.0	seem to listen.
0:27.6	And thus, he is a lame duck. He is a lame duck. He is a lame duck. You are a lame duck. Would a lame duck build himself an assisted living ballroom well so i'm getting my stuff yes yes a lame duck would you know why because what does a lame duck work towards what are they building now they're building legacy that is a monument to him.
1:01.3	And so when he does leave, that thing still exists to remind people of him.
1:13.3	And so in a certain way, Donald Trump has already begun to cement in his position as a lame duck by the things he is doing that are legacy oriented.
1:19.4	And we don't see it necessarily that way because we pissed off about the fact that you just tore down the East Wing.
1:20.5	Right?
1:22.5	We're focused on that.
1:33.1	He's focused on what will be there to replace that part of history with his recreation of a new history about him, telling his story.
1:37.5	And the ironic thing about that is it's contributing to this slide and his approval ratings.
1:44.4	Catch Michael Steele on the weeknight, Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern on MS now.

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