It’s been called the most damaging day of an already deeply troubled US presidency.

Tuesday’s dramas may have played out in courtrooms hundred of miles apart, from New York to Virginia, but together they cemented corruption as the theme that underpins Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House.

As two more of the President’s men fell, existential questions over Mr Trump’s own political future followed and are now forefront in the minds of many Americans not least with mid-term Congressional elections looming less than 11 weeks away.

As far as conventional wisdom goes, the views of ordinary Americans on the Trump presidency remain as fixed as ever. Those who hate him can’t hate him more and those who love him can’t be made to think otherwise.

Shortly after the near simultaneous convictions of Michael Cohen and Paul Manafo, Mr Trump flew to West Virginia for a rally with some of his strongest supporters.

Though not known for his sense of irony, the President must surely have paused for thought on hearing the crowd at the rally chanting the now familiar refrain, “Lock her up,” in reference to Hillary Clinton.

Those chants, references to the alleged crimes of the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Mrs Clinton, have a distinctly hollow ring about them these days.

Instead, they have taken on a very different resonance, given that the only people almost certain to be locked up regarding criminal activity connected to that bitterly fought election campaign, are those from within Mr Trump’s own ranks.

It was only hours before his West Virginia rally that the President received the body blow news that his former campaign manager Mr Manafort was convicted on several counts of fraud.

The President’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, meanwhile, almost simultaneously admitted in court that he had been directed by Mr Trump to break federal campaign finance law by offering “hush money” to cover up affairs with a former porn star and a model.

While the convictions were not directly related to allegations of collusion with Russia, it provides the surest signs yet that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s far-flung investigation into Mr Trump’s inner circle is closing in on the president himself.

For some time now there have been those who remain convinced that little if anything of such scandals would stick to Mr “Teflon” Trump, regarded by many as the most dishonest President certainly since Richard Nixon and some might say, arguably, ever.

Most of the US public has so far taken little interest in the details of the 15-month Mueller probe. But that may be about to change.

Watching events unfold this week there was an undeniable sense that these were moments that will become pivotal parts in the history of Mr Trump’s dysfunctional presidency, one that it is now entering a new and more dangerous phase.

Two words beginning with the letter ‘I’ are crucial in what all this might mean for the president. The first I-word is “impeachment,” something that many within the US political community remain extremely hesitant in suggesting as a course of action against Mr Trump.

That said, Tuesday’s convictions helps build an increasingly compelling case for impeachment, given it’s now clear the president engaged in at least one conspiracy to hide the truth from the public in an election he won with a tiny margin in three states.

As Mr Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis said on Tuesday after the court proceedings, “If those payments (of hush money) were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?”

In Mr Trump’s case, however, starting such an impeachment process would currently require a mass revolt by Republicans against him in the House of Representatives now controlled by the GOP, something even less likely than normal to happen with midterm elections on the horizon.

Which brings us then to the other I-word, which will be crucial in how all of this plays out for Mr Trump’s political survival – “investigations”.

As Time magazine pointed out this week, if the ongoing air of scandal drags down Republicans in Congress, Democrats could find themselves chairing committees early next year with broad oversight powers to “dig up even more dirt on Mr Trump and those close to him”.

There are other deeply worrying factors too for the President.

It must be of some concern to him that Mr Manafort may yet engage in some kind of further plea-bargaining. Let’s not forget that the former campaign manager is also scheduled to begin another trial next month one that could put Mr Trump even more firmly in the legal crosshairs.

While mention of Russia and connections with the Trump election campaign were essentially barred from court proceedings on Tuesday, that will not be the case in the coming trial.

It’s during this trial that Mr Manafort’s attachments and work for Russian-connected Ukrainian oligarchs will be in the forefront.

Few doubt the notion that no one on the Trump campaign had connections to any Russia related figures would then be debunked once and for all.

It is of course within the President’s gift to pardon Mr Manafort, but such a move could prove disastrous.

Firstly, it would reinforce in the minds of many that Mr Trump has something to cover up.

Second, aimed as it would be at heading off any potentially incriminating plea-bargaining deal by Mr Manafort, it would only cause enormous political fallout ahead of the mid-terms.

Not only might Democrats be further motivated to move against the President but some Congressional Republicans too would likely say enough is enough.

As if all this were not bad enough for Mr Trump, news emerged too over the past few days that the sentencing of former national security adviser Michael Flynn has again been delayed.

Mr Flynn, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials during the presidential transition, is said to be continuing to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.

Clearly, he too is still trying to get the best possible plea-bargaining deal and might just be prepared to throw Mr Trump further under the bus in order to do so.

There really is no getting away from the fact that the bad stuff is finally be beginning to stick and doing real damage to the Trump presidency’s “Telfon” veneer.