DONALD TRUMP
Some Presidents have plans to change the world. They execute their strategies step by step and are judged by how far they get. Donald Trump came to the presidency by surprise and has attended to its responsibilities erratically. And yet, just as he rewrote the rules of politics in 2016 and remade the presidency in 2017, Trump left his mark on the planet this year.
He played a role in virtually every one of the year’s major trends, from the battle over social media’s influence to the populist wave sweeping Europe to the new direction of the U.S. Supreme Court. But his greatest impact hasn’t come through conventional actions: the articulation of a governing agenda, the management of international relationships, the championing of legislation. Instead, true to the unpredictability that thrilled so many voters and worried so many others, he has been a disrupter, stoking political divisions, breaking institutional norms and weakening the power of the federal government from within.
Trump’s moves have touched the lives of millions. By loosening the rules on everything from water safety to banking, he has changed the balance of power between businesses and consumers. Disavowing decades of U.S. strategy in Europe, the Middle East and northeast Asia, he has scrambled alliances and emboldened strongmen. He has upended American politics, darkening the tone of the public debate and spurring both parties to remake themselves in response to his provocations. Scholars have compared Trump to Andrew Jackson for his populist fervor and to Richard Nixon for his willingness to attack the justice system. But Trump is a singular figure. “He is in a category of his own,” says
