What's left that can restrain Trump's fevered ambitions?

By Ross Douthat / The New York Times

There are two ways to react to Donald Trump’s latest spurt of mad-king behavior, as he tries to bully and meme his way to the acquisition of Greenland under the threat of a trade war if not a real one.

The first reading is straightforward: This is malignant narcissism flavored with insane Nobel Peace Prize-related self-pity, the usual Trumpian unfitness magnified by the excitement of his Venezuelan intervention and the vicissitudes of old age, with the entire NATO alliance imperiled by the warmongering whims of its leading power’s would-be Caesar.

The second interpretation purports to be more hardheaded and sensible, wiser and world-weary after so many years of watching Trump at work. Isn’t this always how he negotiates? Stake out an absurd-sounding position, freak out all the institutionalists and keepers of consensus, rattle the markets and then use the madman’s leverage to induce other countries to accept an advantageous-for-America deal? You can’t take the wild things he says on social media as the essence of his policy; he’s a performer and a player of games, and while he doesn’t always chicken out, he’s always looking for a way to shake hands at the end.

My own conclusion, deep in the Trump era, is that you need to blend these readings to understand the situation. Trump is an unstable narcissist with a bottomless appetite for attention and a defective moral core, and if you think he’s merely playing a negotiator’s part, you misunderstand him: There is a perfect sincerity to his most absurdist whines and boasts.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/douthat-whats-left-that-can-restrain-trumps-fevered-ambitions/