International expert: Trump is entering a "lame duck" period of rule

ArmInfo. US President Donald Trump is entering a period of declining political influence. This opinion was expressed by international relations expert Suren Sargsyan, who noted that such a period of a presidency is called a "lame duck" in political science.

"This is the term used for the period of an outgoing president, as his political weight begins to decline and his influence weakens. This occurs after midterm elections, especially in the event of a defeat, becomes more evident after the announcement of a successor, and, naturally, in the period between the election of the next president and his inauguration," Sargsyan explained in a post on his Facebook page.

During this period, as the expert noted, the president still possesses constitutional powers, but from a political perspective, his words begin to have less influence, and political interest in him declines, especially when candidates for the next president emerge. The latter, according to Sargsyan, will occur in the first months of 2027. "Very often, a president becomes toxic to those around him, and particularly to his potential successors, especially if they are members of his administration, as they bear the brunt of responsibility for his policy decisions. However, Trump must be careful not to harm his successors with his actions, as if the Democratic candidate wins, unprecedented investigations, criminal cases, and lawsuits could be launched against him and his family members, just as happened in 2020, when he was not re-elected and found himself at the center of a number of investigations," Sarkeesian recalled.

The expert said that these concerned the events of January 6, 2021, at the Capitol and alleged attempts to change the election results, the storage of classified government documents after leaving office, attempts to influence the election results in Georgia, and the case of Trump's forgery of business documents in New York. He noted that some of these cases led to criminal charges, and in the New York case, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts in 2024.

"Therefore, this time he has something to lose, since his close relatives—sons, sons-in-law, etc.—could also be at the center of such investigations. Thus, while Trump may have nothing left to lose politically and may resort to extreme measures, given the above, he still has much to lose personally. I believe that, although President Trump is already a lame duck, he will try to use his powers to the fullest until the last second. It's possible that before leaving office, he will pardon himself and his entourage, thereby protecting them from future investigations. However, the beginning of the decline of his political influence has already begun," Sarkisian concluded.

As a reminder, voting in the midterm congressional elections has concluded in the United States. According to preliminary results, the Democratic Party will gain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, taking the majority from the Republicans. Specifically, the Democrats will gain a majority in the House of Representatives, where they needed to secure at least 218 seats.