Trump Is Checking Out of His Presidency

Edward Luce: “To say that Trump has checked out of the business of governing is an understatement. It would also imply that he had previously checked in. Yet in his first year, Trump had a plan and executed a lot of it. This included the big beautiful bill of tax cuts, a trade war against the world, ICE deportation round-ups, Elon Musk’s assault on the administrative state and a government-wide DEI purge. The phrase ‘Trump’s war on.. (universities, science, law firms, fill in the blank)’ became a media cliché. Whatever you thought of his choice of targets, Trump had them in his sights.”

“In his second year, however, the president’s mind has increasingly been colonised by monuments to himself. Aside from ego, few can credit the depth of Trump’s obsession with these kitsch monstrosities.”