The government shutdown, for instance, temporarily took some of the wind out of the sails of the new Democratic House leaders. They have had to focus on Trump's fight rather than their own.
Will any of his presidential opponents be able to create a rival force-field around themselves?
People who see Trump as formidable also note how he operates: Continually pushing against Washington's governing traditions; maintaining a base of supporters; using the threat of their support to keep his congressional party in line; being prepared to offend and do the unthinkable.
Being the incumbent, with the authority of the position, is a huge advantage. Trump is almost a test case of how bull-headed a person can be in that position and still attract all the trappings of power. Everything he does is given media coverage.
Sitting US Presidents rarely lose re-election bids. Usually it takes a primary or third candidate challenge. George W. Bush landed the US in Iraq and still got returned. Bush, with his "Bushisms" also proved a President could be widely scorned and win.
Presidents tend to benefit when the economy is doing well. The economic picture is volatile and uncertain, but unemployment remains low.
The Russia probe is yet to detonate but is an unknown factor.
Trump's base gives him a definite chance under the Electoral College system where a handful of states will be key.
Overall, his advantages will keep him competitive, but he will stay within reach and be beatable.
Trump has stayed the same while opponents' attitudes towards him have hardened.
Last year's Midterms and opinion polls suggest that Trump's position is a lot weaker than a surface look suggests.
A new Pew Research Centre poll shows that, overall, his approval rating has not improved since his inauguration on January 21, 2017. It was 39 per cent in February 2017 and is 37 per cent now. In contrast, all his predecessors back to Ronald Reagan were rated higher and their ratings were volatile over their first two years.
Remember, Trump in 2016 scraped in with a low 46 per cent of the vote against an unpopular opponent, a hate figure to many conservatives.
The President's rhetoric, style and issues remain broadly the same as in early 2016.
Trump made a clear argument about immigration before November's Midterms and his party lost 40 House seats. He then returned to the same unpopular issue in forcing the government shutdown. Polls show a majority blame the shutdown on Trump.
A NPR, PBS, Marist poll last week asked Americans if they planned to vote for Trump in 2020. Only 30 per cent said they definitely planned to, 57 per cent said they definitely wouldn't. Among Trump supporters about three-quarters said they would vote for him.
The Pew poll found that 29 per cent of Americans believe Trump's presidency will be successful in the long term, with 47 per cent thinking it won't be and 23 per cent saying it is too early to tell. A high number of people have made up their minds about him.
The Midterms showed voters are energised. Turnout reached the highest level for a Midterm since 1914 with 50.3 per cent of people eligible voting. Normally it's about 10 per cent less than that. In the House election, 60.7 million voted Democrat to 51 million who voted Republican. In comparison, Trump received 63 million votes in 2016 on a presidential election turnout of 60.1 per cent. It's striking how close the Democrats got to Trump's total, considering they are minus a party figurehead.
Too much can be read into how the results of the Midterms relate to presidential elections. Bush and Barack Obama recovered from Midterm setbacks to win re-election.
At this point in their two-term reigns, Obama was at 46 per cent — having dealt with a severe financial crisis — and Bush was at 58 per cent — having dealt with the 9/11 attack and intervened in Afghanistan.
Considering that Trump has been dealt much easier cards and inherited a well-performing economy, he should be doing a lot better.
Trump hobbles himself as President. He is continually dragging the weight of his own inexperience, incompetence, strategic approach and character through water, creating problems where there are none.
A more generic Republican would not have been as relentlessly divisive and ruled for his base as Trump. They would have gained far more support from independents — the biggest voter group according to Gallup at 42 per cent. In 2016 Trump won 46 per cent of the independent vote. According to the NPR, PBS, Marist poll, 62 per cent of independents say they won't vote for him.
Against a good Democratic ticket, Trump would need more than his base to win. He's battling historic unpopularity and entrenched attitudes towards him.
