Strong piece. I appreciate the discipline of grading outcomes instead of vibes.
My main disagreement is more upstream: I don’t think Trump is seriously trying to solve any of the Big Six. Once you view his behavior through the lens of power acquisition and retention, the inconsistency disappears. Distraction, symbolic gestures, false promises, and constant “bad guy” identification aren’t bugs they’re the strategy.
Populism here isn’t a tool for reform; it’s a control mechanism. That’s why even low-hanging fruit rarely gets harvested cleanly. Policy becomes theater, and attention—not improvement—is the scarce resource being optimized.
I agree with many of your grades individually. I just think the deeper failure is the absence of good-faith governance altogether.
That is a great point, which I do not disagree with at all. So I think there is actually not a disagreement at heart here. He definitely is not working toward any of my goals. Some he is actively opposed to like immigration, others he is agnostic on (and worthless), others he is only ostensibly in favor of and only coincidentally working toward like taxes.
It is truly theater and grift. His supporters become his pawns, enablers, and funders.
Strong piece. I appreciate the discipline of grading outcomes instead of vibes.
My main disagreement is more upstream: I don’t think Trump is seriously trying to solve any of the Big Six. Once you view his behavior through the lens of power acquisition and retention, the inconsistency disappears. Distraction, symbolic gestures, false promises, and constant “bad guy” identification aren’t bugs they’re the strategy.
Populism here isn’t a tool for reform; it’s a control mechanism. That’s why even low-hanging fruit rarely gets harvested cleanly. Policy becomes theater, and attention—not improvement—is the scarce resource being optimized.
I agree with many of your grades individually. I just think the deeper failure is the absence of good-faith governance altogether.
That is a great point, which I do not disagree with at all. So I think there is actually not a disagreement at heart here. He definitely is not working toward any of my goals. Some he is actively opposed to like immigration, others he is agnostic on (and worthless), others he is only ostensibly in favor of and only coincidentally working toward like taxes.
It is truly theater and grift. His supporters become his pawns, enablers, and funders.