Trump’s threats are now just saber-rattling with a plastic knife

The presidency’s power and mystique has surrounded every president, especially when the U.S. started to become a superpower. Building off President Theodore Roosevelt’s proverb of “speaking softly and carrying a big stick,” presidents over the decades have learned that the office commands respect. Speaking to our enemies, antagonists and wayward allies carried a considerable amount of gravity.

Unfortunately, President Trump has turned the power of the presidency into a joke. Trump has always been a blowhard — not just in real life, but also on reality TV, talk shows and Twitter. People flocked to him because he said the things everyone wanted politicians to say. In an age where politicians overanalyze every word in every speech, he was an off-the-cuff guy who would tell it like it is. And when people didn’t listen, he threatened them.

Coming into his second term, Trump ratcheted up the tough talk. He had the House, Senate and Supreme Court to back him up. He had carte blanche to carry out his very specific ideals on how to change the country, the presidency and his bank account. At first, it seemed to work. Trump would make demands and threats against, say, NATO, whose nations boosted their spending and its secretary general called him “daddy.” Businesses rolled back DEI programs, universities made settlements to be left alone by the administration, and television networks changed their programming because of his threats.

Lately, however, it seems that people are tired of........

© The Hill