Our nation’s capital has offered lots of surprises in the last 18 months. It might be fun to predict what else we might see before year-end. I admit that I haven’t anticipated much of the chaos and frenzy that’s happened, but hey, let’s take a shot.
So, here are my predictions for the remainder of 2026. Have at it and add a few of yours in the comments. Or just check back near year-end and see how many I get right. You might even jump on Prediction Markets and make a buck or two.
· Attorney Jeanine Pirro will be fired. How has this not happened yet? She arrested the guy President Trump wanted arrested for touching the Reflecting Pond, she guaranteed evidence beyond reasonable doubt, the accused was looking at up to a 10-year prison sentence, and then she let him go, admitting that the contractor did a really bad job of fixing the pond.
Upon her termination, Trump will talk about “restructuring” or “new priorities.” Then he will reaffirm his “great respect” for Pirro and Pirro will note that she left voluntarily. Everybody will agree to pretend they believe each other.
· David Hearn will be arrested again. Remember the Reflecting Pool vandal, the ex-Olympian, who dipped his fingers into the pond, creating a national security crisis? In order to save face over hiring a bungling contractor, Trump will continue to try to ruin lives by going after Hearn again, maybe on a new, more sinister charge, such as stealing algae from the pond. He could get the chair.
· The Kennedy Center will once again get Trump’s name attached to it; that is, if it was ever really taken off (we haven’t seen the tarp come down yet). The new official name will become something like the Donald J. Trump & John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Conspiracy Pavilion. The stationery is probably already on order.
By December, there will be Congressional action to add “Trump” to the Lincoln Memorial. Trump will deny that he ever asked for such an honor before admitting that he does not oppose it.
· Childhood diseases, like measles, will spike even more than they are now. With the administration’s new guidelines, stating that “to the maximum extent feasible,” all childhood vaccines should be given at separate medical visits, families will need to schedule more appointments and more pokes for kids, to complete vaccination goals. Pediatric practices will face increased workloads and costs will go up. More kids will miss planned vaccinations due to the increased responsibilities placed on parents.
The Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease (PFID) has responded to the change, saying the executive order is “not anchored to an actual problem,” and noting that “there have been no new safety signals, no new clinical findings, no reduced risk from vaccine‑preventable disease that would justify rewriting vaccine recommendations for America’s children.” In other words, this has worked for 55 years, so changing it now, risks more cases like the current measles outbreak, the worst in more than 30 years.
· Trump will grow more hair. Have you seen his newest “weave.” He always talks about his weaves as his clever way to dive into a dozen stories before finishing one, but he appears to have a new weave. The bet is more hair is coming. Trump will claim it’s all normal, while his doctors will attest that only Donald Trump could start growing more hair at 80.
· The government will spend another $200 million making Trump’s gift plane sufficiently presidential. Upon completion, the press and Trump’s staff won’t have to be used as decoy targets for future flights, wondering why they’re asked to keep their window shades drawn, while the president is secretly hurried off to a substitute plane to fool Iranian would-be assassins.
· Pete Hegseth will accidentally disclose more classified information; well, maybe not accidentally. He likes for his family to be involved in his workday, so naturally they are included in some classified war plans. Expect one or more shares over chat applications by year-end.
Afterward, Trump will describe Hegseth as “very smart,” and Pete will chug a beer and talk about testosterone, while claiming that everyone already knew the war plans, so no big deal.
· Trump will head off to Walter Reed for his quarterly physical, where he just loves that report that measures him at 6’3” and 224 pounds. His doctor will be amazed at his fitness. No one will question those numbers; well, almost no one. While the weight is questionable (but his doctor confirmed it), it is said that Prince William is 6’3” (see picture), so there may be some “stretching” going on.
· The weaponization “slush fund” will return. Sure, Attorney General Todd Blanche finally put it in writing that this fund was dead, not moving forward, taken off the table. That got him confirmed. Now, the bet here is that it will be re-implemented under a different agreement and a new name, so that Trump can pay his J-6 insurrectionists a million or so each for their peaceful “tour” of the Capitol. Kinda makes you wish you showed up and beat up a cop with a flagpole, doesn’t it?
· The president will announce the need for more “beautiful architecture” with a plan to replace existing pillars at the White House. The proposed pillars will be Corinthian style, like those on U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court, which has long been a preference on Trump’s properties. They are also planned for Trump’s ballroom.
The existing pillars are traditional and classic. They are not unsafe, they are not in disrepair, they are not dysfunctional. Trump wants newer, bigger, more imposing pillars. And don’t bet against tacky gold trim being attached.
Some boring historian will subtly remind everyone that the White House belongs to the American people. Trump will probably reply, “Yeah, have you seen my new pillars?”
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI and publishes opinion columns regularly.
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