Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, stressed Trump's almost childish impetuousness in his emailed response to my inquiries:
A through line of Trump's actions is that they are impulsive, with little consideration of the constraints or consequences. We clearly see this with Iran, where the president has shown little interest in the future of Iran beyond immediately decimating its military capacity.
On some days, he talks about the Iranian public taking control and overturning a brutal regime; on other days he washes his hands of the outcome. We've gone from Colin Powell's Pottery Barn rule that he articulated to President Bush, "you break it, you've bought it," to "you break it, they own it."
Moynihan agreed that "there are significant strategic motivations for the U.S. military action" against Iran. But for Trump, "the key point seems to be the impulsiveness, the arrogance, the lack of public and interparty consultation."
There are other parallels, Moynihan argued:
What was DOGE at the start of the second administration? Smash and terminate. Break things and move fast, but without a plan for what follows.
It seems pretty clear that they are making it up as they go — in Venezuela, in Iran, in dealing with Europe over Greenland, in tariff levels. This is all smash and grab, see what works.
If ICE goes too far, then fire the homeland security secretary and move on to the next opportunity to punish and dominate. If you can't indict Comey, move on to Schiff or Senator Kelly. Keep up the pressure and punishment. See what works. Keep them constantly under pressure and off guard. Show you are powerful and can do anything at any time.
I leave it to Moynihan to conclude on a note that will have to pass for optimism right now:
I think we are going to pay a large price globally and domestically for this rashness, arrogance and destructive incompetence. But in one sense we are fortunate.
Imagine how much more threatened our democracy would be if we had a president with the same authoritarian intent and ambition but much greater patience, strategic savvy, planning, intellect and skill. It is not only his overreach and greed that will be his undoing but his incompetence.
