How to try and negotiate with Donald Trump

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, it has been virtually impossible to keep up with all the extreme measures, incendiary rhetoric, personnel changes, policy reversals, and breaches of rules and norms, from intelligence leaks to defiance of court orders.

- Koichi Hamada

That is by design: like European fascists in the twentieth century, Mr Trump knows that it is far easier to manipulate and suppress an overwhelmed, divided, and disoriented public than an informed, engaged, and assured one.

The relentless stream of declarations, policy U-turns, and legal violations confuses Mr Trump's opponents, making it difficult to devise a clear strategy for resisting him. And the flood of often-false or misleading information, combined with continued appeals to popular grievances, prevents Mr Trump's supporters from recognising that he is often actively working against their interests.

The international community, too, has been struggling to figure out how to respond to Mr Trump's behaviour, from his bombing of Iranian nuclear sites to his rejection of multilateral agreements. When it comes to tariffs, however, the path forward should be clear.

On April 2, Mr Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs on countries running trade surpluses with the United States. But on April 9 - less than 24 hours after the tariffs took effect - he announced a 90-day “pause”, during which affected countries were supposed to reach new trade deals with the US. True to form, the Trump administration has just moved the deadline again: now, countries apparently have until Aug 1.