Has time run out for Donald Trump in American politics?

With the 2020 US presidential election drawing ever closer, it’s looking like a tall order for incumbent President Donald Trump to reverse the national polls, along with the next US President odds, and win a second term in office. At the moment, Democratic candidate Joe Biden is the favourite to win the election, with Trump trailing the 77-year-old.

This all raises the question of whether Trump’s time has run out in his political career. The former business tycoon and reality TV personality made waves when he announced his candidacy for the 2016 election. His brash style and braggadocio made him a controversial figure from the get-go, but it’s fair to say that few realistically expected him to challenge and actually win the election.

But as time went on, Trump’s candidacy got more and more serious, right to the point where he won the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Hillary Clinton for the White House. Trump’s quest to become President had been seen as a joke by many, but of all a sudden it became a very real possibility.

Clinton was still the overwhelming favourite to win the election, but Trump’s bullish campaign methods saw Clinton’s lead in the polls soon dwindle, before he ultimately triumphed on Election Day to earn an unlikely victory.

Flash forward four years to the present day, and it seems as though Trump is on thin ice as far as his presidency is concerned. The polls are against him as the election draws ever nearer, and this time Biden does not look likely to throw away his lead in the way Clinton did.

There is still hope for the President of springing one final surprise, of mustering up a strong end to his campaign to canvass more support and reinvigorate his support base from four years ago. It’s a tall order, but the 74-year-old has never been one to shy away from a challenge. His entire political career has been defined by proving his doubters wrong, and it wouldn’t be too much of a shock to see him rise to this latest challenge and earn another term in office.

But then, perhaps the last four years have hindered Trump in terms of his chances of winning re-election. His tenure has been defined by controversy, from his obsession with the issue of immigration and his project of building a wall along the border between the USA and Mexico, to the lingering threat of impeachment which has dogged him since he took office.

Then, of course, there is his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen his stock diminish considerably among large sections of the American public. It has always been Trump’s prerogative to put the economy at the top of his list of priorities, and it’s clear that this has not gone down well with much of the electorate.

In many ways, if Trump does go on to lose the election, he will be a victim of his own high-risk, in-your-face style of politics – the kind of strategy which can yield short-term success but more often than not, will disintegrate in the long-term. This upcoming election will be a great litmus test for the will of the American people. Is there still a desire for a character as fiery as Trump in the White House, or is it time for a return to greater normality?