From derailing meetings by telling fictional stories about serial killers to Davos, the president has left people confused and concerned
Donald Trump vowed to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars” during his inauguration speech last year, a bold promise that spoke to otherworldly achievements.
But during the first year of his second term, it is on the planet Earth where Trump has sought to plant the US flag. He has deployed troops to US cities, as waves of ICE agents terrorize communities. Trump has ordered the invasion of Venezuela and the capture of its leader, is engaged in ongoing saber-rattling over Greenland, and has threatened historic US allies should they oppose his efforts to seize the autonomous territory of the Danish kingdom. He has amplified online claims that Nato is a bigger threat to the US than historical adversaries China and Russia.
It has been a forceful few months, in other words, with Trump’s frantic and pugnacious approach to international relations leaving people wondering whether the US president is unhinged or following a masterplan.
Yet in the middle of his thrusting on the world stage, Trump’s past year has been marked by bizarre moments. He has yo-yoed between hours-long flurries of activity on social media and public engagements where he has appeared to fall asleep. He has fluctuated from derailing meetings by telling fictional anecdotes about serial killers, to derailing meetings by talking about different methods of descending stairs.
