The Shiny Veneer of American Politics is Flaking Away

President Donald Trump’s approval rating is in freefall; the Democratic Party is struggling to find an appropriate person to rally around, and the average American is wondering, “Where do I fit in?” Internal political spats have been around in America since the eighteenth century and parties have failed to adapt to change, but something feels different about the past year’s politics.

The Republican Party

Politicians have publicly insulted their opponents in the past, since at least the eighteenth century. Derisive terms such as ‘liar’ or ‘scoundrel’ started duels – a far cry from modern-day “bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body” or “evil, narcissistic lunatic” insults espoused by politicians this past year (Broadwater, Freeman). Though the first comment was made by Jasmine Crockett, a Democratic Representative for Texas, this type of ‘insult politics’ seems much more commonplace within the Republican Party.

What makes this change so marked is that it is no longer just constantly espoused by Donald Trump, but also now used by other ‘copycats’ within the Republican Party. Very few sum up this trend like the former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Just this past March, she joined in on a very public spat between Megyn Kelly and Mark Levin, two conservative public personalities. She joined in the fight on Kelly’s side, saying of Levin: “MAGA destroyed by micropenis Mark Levin” (Sommerlad). Most Americans either don’t care about or are fed up with these barbs – a paper by political scientist Marc Jacob found that though such insults garner more media attention, it does not bring a larger vote share or legislative success (LaReau).

That fact alone seems to doom Trump, but his downfall instead appears to come from the controversial Iran War initiated earlier this year. Whether this conflict is simply the scapegoat or the camel that broke the camel’s back for conservative influencers, they are breaking ranks and publicly crossing the aisle on this war. Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly (whose comments sparked the aforementioned spat with Mark Levin), Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Alex Jones have voiced opposition to this conflict, up to calls from Greene and Owens for the invocation of the 25th amendment (Moore). 

Conservative public figure and former MAGA congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Source: Orlando Sentinel

It seems that this isn’t only the case for such public figures. According to Lucy Procter at the BBC, “It's common for US presidents to get a boost in popularity in the early stages of military action, as patriotism surges” (Procter). This does not seem to be the case for Trump’s conflict in Iran. Already widely disapproved of with a net approval rate of -18, no wide surge of public support followed. Much the opposite, in fact – his net approval rate has dropped even further to -20 just a month and a half after the start of the war (Donald). To echo Calvin from Bill Watterson’s brilliant comic Calvin and Hobbes, many people are being confronted by the question ‘How does this war solve our problems?’ Their simple conclusion is that it doesn’t, and it’s not quite worth supporting.

The Calvin and Hobbes strip from February 18, 1991. Source: Watterson

The Democratic Party

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has problems of their own. While they may not be struggling with a toxic culture or an unpopular war and presidency, they are refusing to take action or promote internal candidates who inspire people. The general sense of the party is that, though they promote the policies and ideologies that more closely align with the people’s, the strategies and resistance used make the party seem inept.

Little demonstrates this more than the shutdowns that were seen late last year and earlier this year (even up until the point of writing this!). The government shutdown of late last year had two major points of debate: SNAP benefits (food stamps) and healthcare subsidies, both very popular social welfare programs. While the Democrats seemed to have had the popular support and ability to wait out their Republican counterparts, they caved after 41 days. This result was seen by many as a flaccid end to a meek resistance. It was succinctly characterised by many on the Left, to quote Jon Stewart, as a failure: “[t]hey squandered their leverage, sapped their voters’ enthusiasm, and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory” (Stewart). The Democratic Party extended the deadline for SNAP and healthcare funding in exchange for ending the shutdown and receiving a promise of future healthcare and SNAP funding debates.

Katherine Clark, Hakeem Jeffries, and Pete Aguilar, three of the most powerful members of the Democratic leadership. Source: TIME

This year’s debate focuses on the Department of Homeland Security funding,  which affects both the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Many are hoping for a sporting showing from the Democrats this time around as they fight for more restrictions relating to the controversial ICE agency. Already shut down for 57 days, the Department of Homeland Security needs a quick resolution to the stalemate before a self-imposed GOP June first deadline proposed by Trump. To quote the moderate conservative commentator David Brooks, “If you don’t like what the opposing party does, you try to beat [them] in the next election. You don’t shut down the government” (Brooks). While this may be how it should work, it seems clear that the Republicans haven’t learned their lesson in compromise, either. It’s looking more and more like the Democrats will get their much-needed genuine political victory by having the Republicans agree to the Democratic proposal introduced to the Senate floor on day four. It remains to be seen who will cave first and when, though many aren’t expecting much from the Democratic Party.

The party is similarly struggling with finding a candidate to rally around or a political ideology to adopt. The elections held in late 2025 are widely referred to as a “blue wave” election season – Democrats flipped the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, and most notably saw the victory of Zohran Mamdani over former governor Andrew Cuomo. This larger ‘wave’ is giving the leadership pause – why did it happen, and how can they capitalise on it?

Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, the main frontrunners in the 2025 New York City mayoral election eventually won by Mamdani. Source: Fox News

Though it’s expected that a Democrat wins the New York City mayorship, a muslim self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist defeating a former governor career politician with a strong political lineage is certainly unusual. The populism of a young, energetic outsider was seen as refreshing, especially compared to the Cuomo campaign, so entrenched in the usual partisan politics.

While the ‘economic issue’ campaign promises that the Trump administration failed to live up to are certainly the largest reason for the blue wave, the leadership is struggling to figure out how to best face the critical midterm elections (Morrow and Egan). Should they embrace the left-wing charisma-driven populism that caused Mamdani’s upset victory in New York City, or should they stay the course with their centrist economy-driven talking points that caused the flips in New Jersey and Virginia? With how the Iran War seems to be affecting costs like gas, it seems much more likely that the economy will be their appeal of choice to the voters.

Where are the People?

Americans now simply view Washington as it is: feckless Democrats and infighting Republicans, sure, but more accurately, they see their politicians as humans, and that just doesn’t inspire as much confidence.

At least anecdotally, nobody close to me, whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent, is satisfied with the state of our current politics. I constantly hear my Democratic friends bemoan that there is nobody speaking to their interests on their left wing – the party is speaking to the centre. Other friends believe that the party should run candidates catering to their middle-class, democratic socialist values. Similarly, I often hear my former Republican friends bemoan that their former party has gone too far to the right and that nobody is catering to their moderate Republican values.  

I hear Democrat and Republican voters complain that nobody in their party is even close to their ideal candidate, that they feel politically homeless, that they don’t feel any optimism for their future, and that they are being taken advantage of by the rich. It used to be that both sides had their own pitches and platforms. What’s worrying me is that the Republican voters are starting to sound like the Democrat voters, and the Democratic voters are starting to sound like the Republican voters. It seems that many feel the same way – dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Bibliography

Broadwater, Luke. “‘Oversight After Dark’: Lawmakers Hurl Insults at Session.” The New York Times, 17 May 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/05/17/us/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-insults-crockett.html. 

Brooks, David. “Brooks and Marcus on voters fed up with gridlock in Congress.” YouTube, uploaded by PBSNewsHour, 28 March 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV63xijgn6Y&list=PLgawtcOBBjr-dSQW46DKUQWm8OoJ5zz4h&index=3.

“Donald Trump’s Approval Rating | The Economist.” Donald Trump’s Approval Rating, 10 Apr. 2026, www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker. 

Freeman, Joanne. “Joanne Freeman: The Insults That Started Duels in Alexander Hamilton’s America.” Library of America, 17 May 2016, www.loa.org/news-and-views/1159-joanne-freeman-the-insults-that-started-duels-in-alexander-hamilton8217s-america/. 

“Jon Stewart on Government Shutdown Deal: ‘A World-Class Collapse by Democrats.’” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Nov. 2025, www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/nov/11/jon-stewart-government-shutdown-deal. 

LaReau, Renee. “Do Political Insults Pay off? New Research Shows What Politicians Actually Gain from Divisive Political Rhetoric.” Kellogg Institute For International Studies, 17 Mar. 2026, kellogg.nd.edu/news/do-political-insults-pay-new-research-shows-what-politicians-actually-gain-divisive-political. 

Moore, Elena, and Ailsa Chang. “In Criticism of the War in Iran, Some Conservatives Focus Their Ire on Trump Himself.” NPR, NPR, 8 Apr. 2026, www.npr.org/2026/04/08/nx-s1-5776713/in-criticism-of-the-war-in-iran-some-conservatives-focus-their-ire-on-trump-himself. 

Morrow, Allison, and Matt Egan. “Why the Blue Wave? It Is, of Course, the Economy, Stupid | CNN Business.” CNN, Cable News Network, 6 Nov. 2025, edition.cnn.com/2025/11/06/business/democrats-trump-economy-affordability-nightcap. 

Proctor, Lucy. “How the Iran War Exposed Cracks in Trump’s Republican Coalition.” BBC News, BBC, 14 Mar. 2026, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cev7wn213rvo. 

Sommerlad, Joe. “MTG Joins Megyn Kelly in Questioning Fox Host’s ‘manhood’ as Iran Divide Deepens.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 17 Mar. 2026, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mtg-megyn-kelly-mark-levin-b2940145.html. 

Watterson, Bill. “Calvin and Hobbes.” Comic Strip. Revenge of The Baby-Sat. Feb. 18 1991. Print.