Trump the Bulldozer
Freed of advisers who disagreed with him, the president has followed through on some long-deferred campaign promises—but the results are not what he hoped for.
Fifteen months ago, which was 16 months into the Trump administration, I surveyed the president’s agenda and noted that in high-stakes confrontations, he almost always folded. While he was tenacious in pursuing his central promise of a border wall, Donald Trump often talked a big game, especially on foreign affairs, only to flinch or punt when the moment of decision came.
But over the past year and change, there’s been a shift: Trump, having shed himself of the aides most likely to try to divert him or change his mind, has followed through on several of over the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China.
