If you’ve spent any time on social media or watching the news lately, you know the vibe is, well, chaotic. Ever since January 2025, it feels like the country is running on a high-speed treadmill that someone keeps cranking up. People keep asking, "What is wrong with Trump?" and honestly, the answer depends entirely on which part of your life you're looking at. Is it the economy? The way the government actually functions? Or is it just the sheer unpredictability of it all?
It's not just "mean tweets" anymore. We are talking about a fundamental shift in how America works.
From the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) signed back in July 2025 to the wild $1 limit on government credit cards that literally stopped FDA labs from buying Petri dishes, the reality is a bit more complicated than a simple soundbite. Most folks are stuck in their echo chambers, but if you look at the actual data—the lawsuits, the executive orders, and the weird rambling speeches—a very specific picture starts to emerge.
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What is Wrong With Trump and the New Economic "Normal"
Basically, the biggest thing most people are feeling is in their wallets. You’ve probably heard about the tariffs. In April 2025, Trump signed an executive order slapping a 10% minimum tariff on basically everything coming into the U.S. If it’s from China, that number can jump to 60%.
Now, the administration says this is about "America First." But economists at places like the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) aren't so sure. They projected that these tariffs would eventually reduce long-run GDP by about 6%. For a middle-income family, that’s like a $22,000 lifetime loss.
It’s sorta like a hidden tax. You don't see it on your W-2, but you see it at the grocery store and the car dealership.
Then there’s the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." It sounds great, right? Except, it actually hiked taxes on immigrant families and stripped away the Child Tax Credit for millions of kids who have an immigrant parent. It also slashed nutrition aid and health insurance access for lawfully present immigrants. When you pull that much support out of the community, it doesn't just hurt those families; it destabilizes the local economies they support.
The Chaos in the Cubicles: A Government on a $1 Budget
One of the weirdest things happening right now—and something that explains why "nothing seems to work"—is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Led by some very familiar tech billionaires, they’ve taken a "slash and burn" approach to the federal workforce.
Check out these specific things that happened in late 2025:
- The administration put a $1 limit on most government credit cards.
- Army contractors who recover and identify fallen soldiers couldn't get paid for their travel.
- FDA labs couldn't order basic supplies, stalling research on food safety.
- More than 212,000 federal employees were cut or "incentivized" to leave by December 2025.
It’s not just about "cutting the fat." It’s about the fact that the person who knows how to keep the water clean or the planes flying just... isn't there anymore. This "flood the zone" strategy—a term popularized by Steve Bannon—has led to more than 200 executive orders in less than a year. It's almost impossible for the courts, let alone the average person, to keep up.
The Acuity Question: Is it Just "Trump being Trump"?
Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter about the President's mental fitness. On December 24, 2025, The Guardian ran a piece looking back at his most "unusual" moments of the year.
It's not just the rambling about Hannibal Lecter or how birds hate windmills. There were specific instances where he seemed to fall asleep in Oval Office meetings and another during a press conference about cannabis reform. He mixed up Albania and Armenia while discussing a peace deal.
The White House, obviously, says his mental sharpness is "second to none." His doctor, Ronny Jackson, keeps insisting he's the healthiest president ever. But over 200 mental health professionals signed a letter arguing he shows signs of "malignant narcissism" and "antisocial personality disorder."
The American Psychiatric Association has this thing called the Goldwater Rule, which says psychiatrists shouldn't diagnose people they haven't personally examined. So, while experts like Bandy Lee from Yale have voiced concerns, there’s this big ethical debate about whether they should be speaking out at all.
Why the Courts are Working Overtime
If you want to know what is wrong with Trump from a legal perspective, just look at the "Litigation Tracker." By early 2026, there were over 199 "plaintiff wins" against the administration.
- The ASL Case: In January 2025, the White House stopped providing American Sign Language interpreters at briefings. The National Association of the Deaf sued, and a judge eventually ruled that this likely violated the Rehabilitation Act.
- The Perkins Coie EO: Trump issued an executive order trying to ban the law firm Perkins Coie from government contracts because he didn't like their politics. Judge Howell struck it down, saying it violated the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.
- The "Kennedy Center" Tiff: Representative Joyce Beatty actually had to sue because the administration tried to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after Trump, which—spoiler alert—is against federal law.
The Real-World Impact on Healthcare and Safety
For a lot of people, the "policy" talk feels abstract until it hits their doctor's office. In early 2025, the administration rolled back key parts of the Affordable Care Act. This included cutting the "Essential Health Benefits" requirement. Basically, this allowed insurance companies to start denying coverage for pre-existing conditions again and brought back those dreaded lifetime limits on coverage.
They also gutted transit grants by 66% and cut Amtrak's budget. If you're someone who relies on paratransit or a train to get to work, your life got a whole lot harder this year.
What Most People Get Wrong About the "Checks and Balances"
People think the Supreme Court or Congress will just "stop" things that are illegal. But in 2025, we saw the administration use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a wartime law—to target student protesters and researchers who were "adjacent" to pro-Palestinian activism.
When you use a 200-year-old war law in peacetime, the "checks" aren't as strong as you'd think. The administration is also pushing to "reschedule" marijuana to Schedule III, which sounds like a win for some, but it's being done alongside executive orders that give the "Department of War" power to seize assets from defense contractors they think are "underperforming."
It’s a mix of populist wins and heavy-handed executive power that makes the whole system feel off-balance.
Actionable Insights: How to Navigate This
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the "What is wrong with Trump" discourse, here are a few actual steps you can take to stay informed and protected:
- Track the Litigation: Follow non-partisan trackers like Just Security or Lawfare. They list every time an executive order is blocked. It's the best way to know what's actually law and what's just a headline.
- Audit Your Healthcare: If you have a pre-existing condition, check with your provider about how the ACA rollbacks affect your specific plan. Some states have "shield laws" that protect you even if federal protections weaken.
- Prepare for Tariff Inflation: Expect prices on imported goods (electronics, certain foods, auto parts) to stay high. If you're planning a major purchase, looking for "Made in USA" might actually be cheaper for once, or you might want to look at the secondhand market.
- Watch the "Schedule F" Changes: If you work in or with the federal government, keep an eye on your job classification. The shift to making more roles "at-will" means the stability of civil service is changing fast.
The reality of 2026 isn't just about one man’s personality. It’s about a massive, complicated machine being rebuilt while it’s still running. Whether you think that's a "fix" or a "break" depends on where you're standing, but staying informed on the specific numbers and court cases is the only way to cut through the noise.