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Certainly, some strange rumblings are coming out of the White House. President Donald Trump seems obsessed with both the petty and the grandiose. He renames lakes, ruminates over his buildings and innumerable projects. The White House and the country eagerly await, apparently, his ballroom. It is too bad that he seems to have little time to spend trying to figure out how to end the Iranian imbroglio and fix the economy.
The inattention to the immediate business at hand seems to confuse his cabinet. Howard Lutnick practically explained his building plans as therapy for the construction-minded president. Scott Bessent called the Iranian sanctions an “economic D-Day,” then walked his comments back to “economic outcast.” Trump also mangled the pronunciation of Yosemite Park when satisfying a favored investor’s desire to place a road in a sensitive area of the Federal vacation spot. When he is not imitating Roman Emperors, he is looking ever so much like an older version of the eccentric King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Of course he has his defenders, mostly hangers-on who think they can control Trump. Good luck in that endeavor. From naming everything America to trying to conquer Iceland and Greenland, Trump is trying to double his reputation as an Imperialist. Let’s hope he does not acquire a taste for handing out titles of nobility; it is clear he has a taste for romantic opera themes, but this is getting to be too much.
But this does have a dangerous side when it gets serious. At present, Trump, despite everything, has been lucky. The stock market has held steady and even grown. Inflation remains at tolerable levels and foreign policy, despite the quasi conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, is not at a critical stage.
But the shenanigans at the White House only complicate matters if something does emerge that creates serious problems. Trump at this stage seems unable to stay focused on the job he is responsible for, being way too interested in his “legacy”.
And this does confuse the public and, in many respects, interferes with what Trump wants to achieve. Perhaps his Canadian renegotiations have merit, but you wouldn’t know it because his side comments obstruct whatever he wants to achieve. Even The Wall Street Journal refers to his tariffs as “The Dumbest Trade War revisited”. Regardless of what his mouthpieces on Fox or at the Heritage Foundation say, none of this is good.
Perhaps this is the Trump that people feared during the first term but mercifully did not get. The second term has been bogged down in a parade of dramatics and unnecessary comments. First there was “shock and awe,” then liberation day - the launching of the tariff wars, then there was Pete Hegseth’s “War Department.” Regardless of your opinion, most can agree that this theatrical approach to governing has not helped. Trump was popular at one point when he governed - the recent six months have been disastrous to his political fortunes.
Trump needs to place first things first, placing fanciful notions in the background, eschewing make-believe and showmanship, and his King Lear-like love of flattery. Get down to business.