| Hello from London,
Recent days brought a maelstrom of Donald Trump-related news. If you worry about the health of institutions, or the level of trust between America and its allies, then you have had little to cheer since his inauguration nearly a week ago. Alternatively, if you hoped that Mr Trump, on his second go-around, would conjure up a more aggressive sort of nationalism—an imperial presidency that harks back to the 19th century—then you’re in luck: this is what you’re getting.
It’s already clear that the second Trump presidency will be markedly different from the first. This time he is more active, self-confident and less constrained by others. He is evidently thinking of how future historians will judge him. His talk of “growing” America, seizing the Panama Canal or taking Greenland is based, it seems to me, on his wish to be regarded by future generations as a man who changed the course of history.
One question I’m asking is whether members of his own party are also growing more deferential. Even senior figures around Mr Trump did not expect him to pardon so many of the hundreds of insurrectionists who had stormed the Capitol on January 6th 2021. They have meekly gone along with it. On Friday the Senate (admittedly by the narrowest possible margin) approved the nomination of Pete Hegseth as defence secretary, despite the serious allegations against him. Kristi Noem was also confirmed as homeland-security secretary this weekend. Other than Matt Gaetz, I had assumed that Mr Hegseth would face the strongest resistance from Congress. That may well mean that Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy junior and other nominees will also be confirmed. That matters because of the qualities of some of the individuals. It also matters if it signals that Congress is reluctant to defy the White House. And our latest story on the new administration explains another way in which Mr Trump intends to test the boundaries of his authority: through “impoundment”, refusing to spend money authorised by Congress.
Have you participated in Dry January this year? Have you found it tedious, or invigorating? Our recent editorial on alcohol consumption, which weighed up the benefits and drawbacks of moderate drinking, drew so many spirited replies from readers that we pulled them together into an article.
The latest update from our 1945 archive project is now live. In this we track, week by week, how The Economist covered the end of the second world war. In our edition of January 27th 1945, we focused on the state of the German war machine.
Finally, if you love the cover images of The Economist, then we have a treat for you. Read this interactive article that explains how our team of designers and editors drew up the best covers of last year. And if you want to put your artistic skills to the test, our new competition gives you the task of designing your own cover. Anybody can enter, so pass on these details to the budding designers among your friends and family. As always, thanks for reading. If you want to reach me, you can at economisttoday@economist.com. |
