In his long speech to Congress March 4, President Donald Trump celebrated the disruption he has brought to Washington and the world since he took office in January. But he never explained how his chainsaw approach helps get us to the Golden Age he claims. The connection remains unclear between indiscriminate firing of government workers and ending waste and fraud. He said steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico will cause “a little disturbance,” but the angry reaction of allies and trade partners, and the U.S. business community, merits more discussion. Cutting off arms to Ukraine while aligning with Russia has horrified Europe but received only brief mention, and his plan to clear Palestinians out of Gaza before rebuilding it barely came up. “A lot of things are happening in the Middle East,” he said. “A rough neighborhood actually.” The president correctly claims a “swift and unrelenting start,” but disruption for the sake of chaos is no cause for applause. – Fletcher Farrar, editor
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