Is Trump really running the world?: “I run the country and the world,” Donald Trump said in his interview with The Atlantic, to mark the first 100 days of his second presidency.
A big takeaway from that interview, from reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, is that Trump “believes he’s invincible. But the cracks are beginning to show.”
And not only because of the unusual circumstances of the interview, in which Trump had previously attacked the reporters by name, but also because they then called him on a cell phone and conducted the interview.
Trump and A House of Cards Falling Apart
Trump’s approval ratings, coming off the first election in which he won the popular vote, have cratered, as many Americans appear to have been reminded that the chaos of a Trump presidency can get very tiresome, very quickly.
“The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys,” Trump said in the Atlantic interview, referring to his first presidency. “And the second time, I run the country and the world.”
But Does He?
Yes, Trump has succeeded in bending U.S. institutions to his will.
He has little resistance remaining within his party, nor in Congress. Law firms, universities, big tech companies, and the media, all of which resisted Trump heavily during his first term, have been much quicker to fall in line, with some exceptions.
However, it’s a very different story when it comes to the rest of the world.
There are indications daily that Trump doesn’t have as much control over events outside of U.S. borders. If he planned to bend China to his will on tariffs, it doesn’t appear that anything of that nature has occurred, with the two sides not even able to agree on whether or not talks have begun.
Nor have other countries been getting in line to capitulate to Trump’s trade demands, and actual trade deals have been slow to emerge. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, this week said one trade deal was agreed to, but not final, and could not name the country.
Canada’s election this week, which the Conservative Party had long been expected to win, was instead won by the Liberals, with Prime Minister Mark Carney possibly in line to stay in office past the end of Trump’s term.
Trump has spent recent months threatening to conquer Canada, launching a trade war, and stating repeatedly that he wanted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to govern Canada, while not seeming to know Conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre’s name.
Trump has also not succeeded in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, nor has he delivered an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, both of which he promised during the campaign.
Pope Donald I?
Meanwhile, Trump indicated this week that he’s eying another international post, although he was likely kidding about this one.
The president told reporters on Thursday that “I’d like to be pope,” after he was asked who he favors in the upcoming papal conclave following the death of Pope Francis. “That’d be my number one choice.”
“I might say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who is very good. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, likely referring to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Dolan is not seen as a likely candidate to assume the papacy, although he will vote in the conclave.
Trump, who traveled to the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral, is not Catholic, is not a priest, is not a member of the College of Cardinals, and would appear unlikely to agree to a vow of chastity or poverty.
But that didn’t stop Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the leading Trump sycophants in Congress, from expressing support for the idea.
“I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!,” the senator said on X, likely also jokingly.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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