Trump’s Bottomless Nihilism Is Eating Our Future

While a few lucky insiders may be getting rich from this misrule, the rest of us are watching the needless destruction of our collective future.

With the failure of negotiations in Islamabad, last week’s “TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) Tuesday” has left less of an impression than the odor of a gas station restroom. 

I envy the confidence of those who publicly broadcast their faith in the TACO maxim in lead-up to Donald Trump folding on threats to war-crime Iran. The ability to hold no doubt in your mind that Trump will always, inevitably, backs down from his most unhinged threats likely leads to sleep more untroubled than mine. Trump does follow through on his ghastly ultimatums. He does not always chicken out. Look at the tariffs, imposed imperfectly but crushing use still. Ask the people of the Twin Cities. Or, for that matter, Iran.

Whether predictions that Trump will inevitably knuckle under are sincere or not, confidence always performs better than nuance. What I have to tell you is this: The only constant in Trump’s decision-making, whether he follows through on his latest insane idea or backtracks—either as a result of real world blowback or him suddenly losing interest—is his enormous capacity for delusion. Anyone correctly predicting his action is the preson who talked to him the soonest  before the decision is announced.

The true line in Trump’s decision-making is not, unfortunately, some essential cowardice. It’s transactional nihilism. The transactionality is well-documented, almost hilariously obvious. He conceives of every interaction as a means to some end. Newly apparent is the changeable nature of those ends. They are gaseous, conforming to the container of his last conversation. 

Observe recent Polymarket trades: The most successful bets on Trump’s........

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