Trump tests the boundaries of his power
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Hello from London,
Recent days brought a maelstrom of Donald Trump-related news. If you worry about the health of institutions, or the level of trust between America and its allies, then you have had little to cheer since his inauguration nearly a week ago. Alternatively, if you hoped that Mr Trump, on his second go-around, would conjure up a more aggressive sort of nationalism—an imperial presidency that harks back to the 19th century—then you’re in luck: this is what you’re getting.
It’s already clear that the second Trump presidency will be markedly different from the first. This time he is more active, self-confident and less constrained by others. He is evidently thinking of how future historians will judge him. His talk of “growing” America, seizing the Panama Canal or taking Greenland is based, it seems to me, on his wish to be regarded by future generations as a man who changed the course of history. If you need some help staying on top of things, The Economist is following Mr Trump’s first 100 days in office. Keep tabs on his executive orders, cabinet picks and popularity via our Trump tracker.
One question I’m asking is whether members of his own party are also growing more deferential. Even senior figures around Mr Trump did not expect him to pardon so many of the hundreds of insurrectionists who had stormed the Capitol on January 6th 2021. They have meekly gone along with it. On Friday the Senate (admittedly by the narrowest possible margin) approved the nomination of Pete Hegseth as defence secretary, despite the serious allegations against him. Kristi Noem was also confirmed as homeland-security secretary this weekend. Other than Matt Gaetz, I had assumed that Mr Hegseth would face the strongest resistance from Congress. That may well mean that Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy junior and other nominees will also be confirmed. That matters because of the qualities of some of the individuals. It also matters if it signals that Congress is reluctant to defy the White House. And our latest story on the new administration explains another way in which Mr Trump intends to test the boundaries of his authority: through “impoundment”, refusing to spend money authorised by Congress.
Have you participated in Dry January this year? Have you found it tedious, or invigorating? Our recent editorial on alcohol consumption, which weighed up the benefits and drawbacks of moderate drinking, drew so many spirited replies from readers that we pulled them together into an article.
The latest update from our 1945 archive project is now live. In this we track, week by week, how The Economist covered the end of the second world war. In our edition of January 27th 1945, we focused on the state of the German war machine.
Finally, if you love the cover images of The Economist, then we have a treat for you. Read this interactive article that explains how our team of designers and editors drew up the best covers of last year. As always, thanks for reading. If you want to reach me, you can at [email protected].
Adam Roberts
Digital Editor?
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Owner, Steelquip, Inc.
1 周The problem with this chaos, that is repeating itself from the last time, is nobody can plan ahead anything. This chaos needs to stop so smart business decisions can be made.
Operational Excellence / C-Suite Advisor / HR Expert / Sustainability & Business Strategies / Freelance
2 周Trump's actions in testing the boundaries of his power raise significant concerns about the erosion of democratic norms and the rule of law. His willingness to challenge established legal and institutional limits risks undermining the checks and balances fundamental to a healthy democracy. Such behavior can set dangerous precedents, potentially emboldening future leaders to disregard constitutional constraints. This ongoing trend threatens accountability and public trust in governance.
E-commerce beyond 'E' - AI, automation & scalable B2C/B2B/D2C.
3 周IT economy goes upside-down since 2024.? Influence of lease economy and subscription-based models in IT: an economic and functional analysis. In this article: - economy vs. new IT models - influence of SaaS, AI and Open Source - predictions 2025 - 2028 #economy #IT #future #saas #AI #opensource https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/economy-goes-upside-down-since-2024-grzegorz-sperczy%25C5%2584ski-f2amf/
OK Bo?tjan Dolin?ek
Director - OccHealth Direct Ltd
4 周The appeal of P. Trump is that in a time of a rising, rearming China, strident N Korea aligned with an aggressive Russia and Iran which needs its axis friends more than ever plus a Europe in a crisis of identity and place, you need a strong counterbalance. P. Trump's US brings that. It may just be that consensus politics needs to take the backseat for a while to give time for a balancing push back to take place. It harkens back to the Roman Republic looking to strength in times of crisis.