Trump Is Entering a Dangerous Phase of His Presidency

The possible existence of recordings of Donald Trump using racial slurs is giving rise to another round of speculation about whether anything can dent his popularity. 

As Brian Beutler reminds us, we already have plenty of examples of damage to Trump’s approval from wildly inappropriate comments. There are real political effects if the president’s rating slips from the current level of about 42 percent to his low of about 37 percent, even if that turns out to be a real floor.