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Report nowDonald Trump likes to present himself as a successful deal-maker: so far, he has gotten away with his reckless and erratic policies. But now times seem to be changing.
Of course he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, at least that's what Donald Trump himself thinks. He has been complaining for years that he has been denied this honor. Quite wrongly, of course. "They will never give me the Nobel Peace Prize," Trump complained at the beginning of the year during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. "That's a shame. I would have deserved it, but they will never give it to me."
But the US president can get his hopes up again. At least he has been officially nominated: by Cambodia's Prime Minister Han Manet and Netanyahu, among others. The heads of government of Armenia and Azerbaijan also want to support the application.
In recent months, the US government has mediated in potentially dangerous conflicts: between the nuclear powers India and Pakistan, between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, between Cambodia and Thailand. Most recently, a peace treaty between arch-enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan was signed in the White House.
How sustainable the negotiated peace agreements are remains to be seen. But for now, it seems that Donald Trump is riding the crest of a wave of foreign policy success. And the summit meeting with Vladimir Putin, at which he wants to end the war against Ukraine, is still to come.
A ceasefire would bring Trump one step closer to the Nobel Peace Prize. He doesn't care that Ukraine would have to make far-reaching territorial concessions to achieve this.
Almost seven months after taking office, Trump has created enough opportunities in foreign policy to stage himself as a self-proclaimed "peace president". Trump has also largely been able to push through his domestic agenda. Or as CNN puts it: Trump is "penetrating every corner of American life to impose his will and his worldview."
The fact that Trump can implement all his plans largely unchallenged is due to his restlessness and callousness. Trump is setting an incredible pace, tackling everything at the same time: Migration, tariffs, taxes. He is intimidating political opponents, instrumentalizing the legal system and blackmailing smaller states in order to push through his tariffs.
Trump first takes people by surprise and then celebrates himself. So far, his calculations have even worked. He has pushed his "Big Beautiful Bill" through Congress - with tax breaks for the rich. He has imposed punitive tariffs on the world, some of which Switzerland can lament. Immigrants are arrested in the street and deported.
Resistance? It's futile, and so far there has hardly been any. But that could now change: Trump's approval ratings are now only at 40 to 45 percent. And the political and strategic consequences of Trump's policies are slowly becoming apparent. The effects will be felt worldwide: But his own voters, of all people, will be hit particularly hard, as five examples show.
There is trade policy, for example. So far, the effects have been relatively minor. According to Handelsblatt, inflation has risen more slowly than predicted. In turn, the US economy grew more strongly than expected. Economic chaos has failed to materialize, analyzes Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican pollster, strategist and political commentator for CNN.
However, Trump's tariffs, the highest since the Great Depression in the 1930s, have by no means led to more industrial jobs. On the contrary: according to labor market statistics, a total of 14,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in May and June.
Anderson expects the situation to change further when higher prices hit consumers. "It's difficult to talk your way out of a situation when prices are really rising and retailers are saying: 'We've absorbed some of this for a while, but now we have to stop'." For Trump, there is then a real danger of political backlash.
Just a few months ago, a majority of Americans were still in favor of Trump's migration policy. In the meantime, the situation has changed: the majority reject it as too rigid and brutal. Above all, the deportation of illegal immigrants is meeting with resistance, as are planned detention centers for migrants, such as the already infamous "Alcatraz Alligator". Farmers are also increasingly complaining about a lack of workers - because immigrants no longer dare to leave their homes.
The "Big Beautiful Bill" is Donald Trump's masterpiece. He pushed the comprehensive bill through Congress despite opposition from within his own ranks. However, people, especially in rural areas and low-paid jobs, Trump's core electorate, will only feel the effects in the coming weeks. Due to the massive tax cuts for the rich, there is no money for hospitals in rural areas and thousands of people are losing their Medicaid health insurance.
Economy, taxes, wars? No, it is a domestic scandal that concerns Trump's voters the most. His refusal to release the files in the Epstein case as promised has shown major cracks in the "MAGA" camp for the first time.
Not only are his voters distancing themselves, but previously obedient political followers and well-meaning influencers are also openly opposing the president.
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Switzerland has been hit particularly hard by the new US tariffs, but other friendly nations have also had to swallow bitter pills. These countries could give Trump the cold shoulder when the US itself is in need of help. Or they could end up in the arms of powerful adversaries: China, for example, would have no problem building an anti-American alliance.
Trump is ruthlessly using the law of the jungle to scare off his allies. Blackmailing Brazil to free ex-president Jair Bolsonaro after his attempted coup is just the tip of the iceberg.
Will this bully tactic qualify him for the Nobel Peace Prize? But it "makes no sense anyway if President Trump - the ultimate peace president - is denied the recognition he deserves for creating harmony in the world", Steven Cheung, White House Communications Director, anticipates.
US President Donald Trump may have bought his political successes at a high price: The mood in the US and around the world is at a turning point.
KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Alex Brandon
