At first, Trump’s early-term energy on multiple fronts was a bolt of energy as he scratched his Sharpie across executive orders and chased away the lethargy that marked President Joe Biden’s waning months in office.
Six weeks in, however, as Trump makes gut-check calls to dismantle post-Cold War national security arrangements, the global free trade system, and the federal machine – all of which helped make the US a superpower – a new realization is dawning.
There doesn’t seem to be a plan.
Trump’s haphazard efforts to make peace in Ukraine, revive Rust Belt-heavy industry with 19th century-style tariffs and slash government are as improvisational as the “weave” – his name for his stream-of-consciousness campaign screeds.
And the world is once again left hanging on the “America first” president’s whims and obsessions.
“There’s too much unpredictability and chaos coming out of the White House right now,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday, describing US trade policy as a “psychodrama” her country can’t go through every 30 days.
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