The essence of Trumpism
To some extent, the chaos is the point. And the theatrics of a president addicted to stunt politics are key to his political appeal.
For some MAGA supporters, Trump’s genius for enraging Democrats, the media and foreign governments is an end in itself. And for ideologues on the populist nationalist right, sparking pandemonium in Washington and destroying governing agencies is a way of deconstructing the administrative state.
Trump’s method was honed in his office high up in the skyscraper that bears his name in Manhattan.
The future president learned through his real estate career how to push opponents off balance with outlandish demands, verbal confrontations and sudden switches of position. In government, he does the same thing to disorientate adversaries and seeks to impose power amid the mayhem.
But while unpredictability is a real estate superpower, it’s a liability when running a country, an economy and a planet – where continuity and predictability are preferred.
“It’s just constant, and it’s exhausting,” said Julian Vikan Karaguesian, a former Canadian Ministry of Finance official, referring to Trump’s scorched-earth tariff offensive. “It’s almost surreal. Is it real? Is it going to be real this time?” Karaguesian, who now lectures at McGill University in Montreal, added: “Maybe the modus operandi here is uncertainty. It’s not tariffs, it’s not anything else, but intentionally creating a sense of chaos and a sense of uncertainty.”
