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Trump’s Brute-Force Approach to Power Is Wearing Thin

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01.02.2026

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By Jamelle Bouie

Opinion Columnist

One point I’ve tried to make over the last year is that the Trump administration has a starkly unsophisticated vision of power. Where a subtler president might cajole and persuade, President Trump demands and threatens. He prefers subordinates to partners and tries to dominate his opponents rather than de-escalate a situation or find a mutually beneficial solution. He rejects persuasion altogether. If he wants something, he takes it.

Colleges and universities won’t support the president’s crusade against diversity programs? Then he’ll revoke their funding until they bend the knee. European and Asian nations won’t give the United States ever more favorable trading terms? Then he’ll impose large, impractical tariffs on their exports in order to force them into........

© The New York Times