Donald Trump’s incredibly reckless second term

I look at President Donald Trump’s second term and see the ham-handed efforts to annex Greenland and Canada, massive tariff hikes on most of the world, a cruel immigration crackdown that has been both lawless and ineffective, and the sudden launching of a war, without U.N. sanction, congressional consultation or any clear strategy. And so I was surprised to hear Jeff Bezos — the owner of The Washington Post, and an obviously intelligent and accomplished businessman — say this week, “I think he is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term.”

Trump’s first term was more disciplined not because he was disciplined, but because he was constrained. He often deferred, however grudgingly, to the Republican establishment and national security elites. His early legislative agenda was shaped by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and executed by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Top economic adviser Gary Cohn repeatedly talked him out of the global tariff hikes he had long wanted. The generals around him urged caution on Iran, support for NATO and arms for Ukraine.

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