Bubbles Bursting
First, there is a hissing noise and then a POP! It is happening to Trump's regime, the U.S. economy, airlines, crypto, and AI. Here is a quick report on the decline & fall of sure things.
Trump’s Bubble / Approval Ratings Leaking Badly
Trump just keeps delivering self-inflected wounds. Earlier this week his Iran war heated up again — so — why not double down and declare that he’s ready to take over Cuba?
Meanwhile, the American people are 3 to 1 opposed to his White House Ball Room. So magically, Trump’s lobbyists (White House Office of Congressional Affairs), slips a $1 Billion spiff into a Senate Bill to help build the Ball Room.
But wait there’s more!
This week, Trump accelerated efforts to take over three D.C. golf courses on National Park land in the District of Colombia. Because? He wanted to.
Yorick predicts Trump will fall below 30 percent approval by the end of Summer – a mill stone around the necks of GOP candidates in the Fall elections. AP polling currently has Trump at 33 percent approval. Pew Research has him at 34 percent. Nearly all Independents are gone from the Trump camp and will never return. Could Trump bottom-out at “Nixon-esque” 28 percent approval? Yes. [Note: 28 percent of voters think Trump’s Ballroom is OK. This number represents the MAGA core — now in the process of splintering and declining — after the manner of Moral Majority, The Tea Party, John Birch Society, and “George Wallace for President.” Again — just in time for Fall elections, flipping the House to Democrat control and ensuring Trump Impeachment.
And a bit more optimism. There is an emerging class of GOP leaders — let’s call them “GOP Contras” – who are defined by common-sense conservatism (less spending/not more), defy Trump’s self-glorification and know how to spell R-H-I-N-O.
Republicans Having Integrity (and are) Not Obnoxious.
Somebody tell Trump that his silly misspelling, “RINO,” — a tired 2015 insult aimed at Bush supporters, reflects badly on “himself” for being cliche, dull-witted, and meaningless.
The U.S. Economy Bubble? – Q1 was an an economic mirage. Larger-than-normal-Trump-Tax refunds covered the record-high cost of gasoline — for the time being. And AI binge investing, accounted for Q1 GDP growth. But it is unsustainable. Meanwhile:
Inflation is up;
mortgage rates are up [The Fed is actually discussing raising rates – that in February were scheduled to decline in 4 ¼ point increments in 2026];
defaults rates for home mortgages, student loans, cars are up;
credit card late payments are up; and
Ford can’t get enough aluminum to build trucks because of Trump’s Canadian tariffs.
Do you hear that hissing sound…?
“Pop” — A Spirted End. “Mayday” For The $1 Trillion U.S. Airline Industry
Trump nailed the coffin shut on Spirit with his Iran War fuel prices. For all other USA and global airlines – costs are up, travel is down, load factors are down, resort bookings are down, stock prices are down. It is going to be a bad year for the travel and tourism industry.
Frontier might be the next airline heading for a rough Chapter 11 landing;
The cost of an average domestic airline ticket is up 26 percent since January 2026;
The cost of an average international airline ticket is up 16 percent since January 2026;
Burst Bubble — Crypto and Meme Coins —
Crypto and meme coins are now found-out to be scams. One way you can tell? The Trumps are for new regulations to make them the equivalent of cash. Much of this carries no more intrinsic/genuine value that baseball cards and bottle caps.
Meme coins – As of May 2026, major, established meme coins like [Dogecoin](Dogecoin) (DOGE) are 85% below highs.
The “Official” Trump meme coin ($TRUMP), in particular, is headed toward worthlessness. Trump’s MAGA fueled holdings were fancifully valued at $20 billion around the time of his inaugural — and he reportedly dumped $3 Billion worth beginning in August 2025. The retail buyers of his dumped coins, mostly MAGA suckers, are the biggest losers. $TRUMP has fallen about 97% from the time of its January 2025 inaugural enthusiasm.
The Melania coin – The official Melania meme coin ($MELANIA) has fallen nearly 99% from its all-time high in January 2025.
> Leaking Bubble — AI (Awful Investment). One economic source estimates that companies engaged in AI represent HALF the value of stock market. Like The Roaring 20s — things feel way out of balance. If one mega-tech company slips? They all fall.
$100s of billions are being spent/invested and there is clear over-building. But because Wall Street and Big Tech are driven by fear and greed – no company wants to be first to blink and scale back – even through there are no profits and not much in the way of revenues in the foreseeable future. Yes, data center building is being cut-back. But the huge profits of AI – to justify the over-spending on investment – are just a mirage.
Beware of mirages. They are everywhere — not just in Washington, D.C.