The influential Economist magazine from London recently has published three critical articles about President Donald Trump: (1) “The would-be king;” (2) “Trump and the world: Europe’s Worst Nightmare;” and (3) “Trade: At the president’s pleasure.” [1]
Here are some highlights (lowlights?) of those articles.
“The world-be king”
“Mr. Trump’s every act demonstrates his belief that power is vested in him personally, and affirms he is bent on amassing more. Ignoring the legislature, he is governing by decree. . . Because some of . . .[his] orders are, on the face of it, brazenly unconstitutional, he also appears to be seeking a trial of strength with the judiciary. . . . Government departments are being thrown into confusion, partly to demonstrate Mr. Trump’s authority over them. . . . In foreign affairs too, Mr. Trump chafes to be rid of the obligations he inherited.. .. [Although] he has pledged to abide by legal rulings, [he] then quoted Napoleon, saying ‘He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
“Trump and the world: Europe’s worst nightmare”
“The past week has been the bleakest in Europe since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Ukraine is being sold out, Russia is being rehabilitated and, under Donald Trump, America can no longer be counted on to come to Europe’s aid in wartime.. . . The old world needs a crash course on how to wield hard power in a lawless world or fall victim to the new world disorder. . . . Mr. Trump’s shakedown of Europe and pandering to Russia have cast doubt on America’s commitment to defend NATO. . . .The problem is that if Europe comes under Russian attack and seeks America’s help, Mr. Trump’s first and deepest instinct will be to ask what is in it for him.. . In the medium term a huge [European] defense mobilization [is necessary]. . . . Paying for this rearmament will take a fiscal revolution. . . . To raise [economic] growth, Europe must press ahead with obvious but endlessly delayed reforms.”
“Trade: At the president’s pleasure”
“What happens when you ditch the principles that underpinned global trade for three-quarters of a century. Donald Trump hopes to find out. . . . A stable multilateral trade system which has, for all its flaws, fostered miraculous rises in global prosperity gives way to arbitrary judgments made in the Oval Office.”
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[1] The Economist (Feb. 22, 2025); “The would-be king” (p. 11), “Trump and the world: Europe’s worst nightmare” (p. 12) and “Trade: At the president’s pleasure” (p. 13).