There was a Trump loyalist on the radio on Thursday morning trying to explain the whiplash-inducing U-turn on tariffs the night before. He said that what the US president wanted was for the world to sit up and take notice of him. Well, if that’s the benchmark of success, then give the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a straight A+. Yes, everyone is sitting up.
The other way of interpreting those remarks is to say that President Trump is an endless attention-seeker. And though this is far from the most important thing to note from the past dizzying 10 days since “Liberation Day”, it has played a part – and invariably made things worse.
