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Curated by Project Syndicate

Making Sense of Trump

32 commentaries

The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency have showcased a remarkable combination of soaring hubris and rank ineptitude. Project Syndicate commentators reflect on how Trump is changing America and, with his rash rhetoric and frequent policy reversals, fueling uncertainty around the world.

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  1. Trump’s Diplomatic Deficit
    Trump military Smith Collection/Gado

    Trump’s Diplomatic Deficit

    Apr 26, 2017 Christopher R. Hill fears that the US administration is leaning too heavily on military solutions.

  2. How to Renegotiate NAFTA
    us mexico border John Moore/Getty Images

    How to Renegotiate NAFTA

    Apr 24, 2017 Jeffrey Frankel identifies several ways the Trump administration could improve the 23-year-old deal.

  3. Will Economic Illiteracy Trigger a Trade War?
    Wilbur Ross Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Will Economic Illiteracy Trigger a Trade War?

    Apr 20, 2017 Jeffrey D. Sachs worries that senior US officials' apparent ignorance of basic concepts could lead to disaster.

  4. Trump’s Dangerous Blank Check
    Trump and Mattis Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

    Trump’s Dangerous Blank Check

    Apr 19, 2017 Stephen Holmes argues that delegating war-making decisions to the military never ends well.

  5. Why Scientists Are Marching
    protest for the environment Jewel Samad/Getty Images

    Why Scientists Are Marching

    Apr 17, 2017 Stephen Matlin, et al. offer a blueprint to reassert the role of facts in a world increasingly governed by emotion.

  6. What I Tell My Non-American Friends
    Trump supporters Andy Cross/The Denver Post/Getty Images

    What I Tell My Non-American Friends

    Apr 12, 2017 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. is optimistic about the resilience of US institutions and alliances in the face of Donald Trump.

Our Pick

Featured

  1. rodrik231_Andrej IvanovGettyImages_us_canda_border Andrej Ivanov/Getty Images
    1

    How Not to Respond to Trump’s Tariffs

    Dani Rodrik advises America’s trade partners not to embrace retaliation, because that would harm mainly themselves.
  2. landau5_Thierry MonasseGettyImages_eu_competitiveness_compass Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
    0

    Europe Found Its Values and Lost Its Way

    Jean-Pierre Landau

    European integration – and the stability and prosperity it supports – has always depended on a pragmatic, incremental approach. If the EU is to navigate today’s challenging geopolitical environment, it must again embrace this approach, rather than continue to allow high-level principles to dictate policy.

     warns that the EU’s focus on high-level principles is undermining its economic dynamism and global influence.
  3. cferguson4_Patrick T. FallonGettyImages_jensen_huang Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images
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    The Crisis in Western AI Is Real

    Charles Ferguson

    Given the risks involved in the race for AI dominance, maintaining a strong lead within democratic advanced economies justifies a public-private strategic mobilization on the scale of the Manhattan Project. Yet the West is doing the opposite, largely owing to its own AI industry’s arrogance, shortsightedness, and greed.

     thinks the US industry bears a considerable share of the blame for China’s DeepSeek breakthrough.
  4. singer239_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_americafirst Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    “America First” in Action

    Peter Singer assesses the damage Donald Trump has already done to long-term US interests since returning to the White House.
  5. varoufakis124_Luke SharrettGettyImages_palantir_demo Luke Sharrett/Getty Images
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    Technofeudalism Is War’s Handmaiden

    Yanis Varoufakis explains how the rise of cloud capital is steering the world toward well-known strategic traps.
  6. buiter54_FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images_swissnationalbank Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Positive Case for Negative Rates

    Willem H. Buiter & Ebrahim Rahbari see the widely scorned monetary-policy tool as a necessary option in the absence of fiscal alternatives.
  7. ahzhang20_PETER CATTERALLAFP via Getty Images_deepseek Peter Catterall/AFP via Getty Images
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    Will DeepSeek Upend US Tech Dominance?

    Angela Huyue Zhang says the firm’s disruption of the AI industry is about market – not great-power – competition.
  8. buruma222_Anna MoneymakerGettyImages_donald_trump_cross Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    1

    Breaking US Democracy Beyond Repair

    Ian Buruma warns that Donald Trump’s efforts to tear down America’s “civic religion” will be difficult to reverse.
  9. patten172_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trump Scott Olson/Getty Images
    1

    Can the Liberal International Order Survive Without America?

    Chris Patten urges Western countries to safeguard the institutions that have underpinned their postwar stability.

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