The Record of Joseph McCarthy's Rise and Decline Might Offer Clues About Donald Trump's Future

Public opinion polls show President Trump’s approval rating has slipped substantially since his second inauguration. Do those results indicate vulnerability? If the trend line continues, could President Trump begin to lose his grip on the reins of political power?

Despite this evidence, discussions in the national media contain little speculation about declining influence. Instead, the national media report on the expansion of Trump’s influence in American life.

Will this state of affairs continue? Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

There are some intriguing similarities between Trump’s situation and that of Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy seemed invincible in the early 1950s, but later, in a matter of months, he quickly fell from grace. McCarthy’s record demonstrates that political power can erode quickly when political conditions change and leaders overreach.