There is still no true governing philosophy of the second Trump administration. It is, on any given day, radically libertarian or obsessively protectionist . The economy is sputtering, and Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care. He’s got scores to settle and vendettas to execute . And he’s empowered enough sinister ideologues, from Stephen Miller to Russell Vought, to make this redux as painful as can be.

Many years ago, Trump promised to be an infrastructure president . America would build again, and build greatly. That of course was a lie, but the real-estate developer in Trump may have been, for a passing moment, earnest. The trouble for him (and everyone else) is that the petty grievances always win out: Trump would rather never build again as long as those who are opposed to him

See Full Page