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Edward Luce

Today

Peter Sellers in the 1964 political satire “Dr Strangelove”.

Trump’s Dr Strangelove playbook is working (for now)

The president revels in his unpredictability, but over time he risks sowing distrust in America’s good faith.

This Month

Trump speaks while signing executive orders in the Oval Office.

Why nothing can stop Trump now

Very little stands in the way of the president’s goal of remaking America as he ploughs ahead with signing executive orders.

Donald Trump at the signing ceremony on Tuesday (AEDT). His speech this time round carried far more specific actions.

Trump promises peace – and war

The president’s speech this time carried far more specific actions, including territorial aggression on America’s neighbours and US troops on the Mexican border.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump. It would be an understatement to say there is no precedent for such a relationship between America’s president and the world’s richest man.

Musk is at war with America’s allies, quiet on its enemies

The Trump administration’s antipathy towards European liberal democracy is real. The eastern side of the Atlantic alliance thus faces a journey without maps.

December 2024

Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Why Musk has hit payday even before Trump takes office

The Tesla chief executive and other super-wealthy entrepreneurs could benefit from deregulation with the new president, but some are already reaping rewards.

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Joe and Hunter Biden.

Biden (not Trump) has weakened America’s rule of law

In pardoning his son, the president has ensured that the distance between himself and Trump is now shrouded in fog.

November 2024

Left to right: Elon Musk, US President-elect Donald Trump, Donald Trump jnr, Mike Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy enjoy a McDonald’s meal aboard Trump’s private plane.

Trump’s demolition of the US state

You measure a leader by his actions not by his heart. To judge from what Trump has done within a fortnight of winning the presidency, his path is destruction.

In the final days of his campaign, as he travelled across America, Donald Trump sometimes seemed bored.

How Trump is guaranteed to get his pound of flesh

The president-elect has promised vengeance against perceived enemies – legions of Trumpians are ready to carry out his wishes.

October 2024

Donald Trump

Harris is done as America doesn’t care about Trump’s fascism

The Democratic candidate is correct that the republic is in danger, but that message may not be enough to prevent the former president from returning to the White House.

The evaporation of shame is not confined to Donald Trump.

America has lost its shame at this election as scandals mount

Reality is now running ahead of fiction in this political era, according to the executive producer of a sitcom about a flagrantly unprincipled vice president.

This presidential race is as close as any in memory.

Why the US election is a likely dead heat between sworn enemies

In a country divided into mutually hostile camps, no easy resolution to the polarisation seems likely after the November poll.

Elon Musk on stage with Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania at the weekend.

Hurricane Musk could prove Trump’s greatest asset

It does not matter whether he is driven by pique or by his thirst for tax cuts. The Tesla chief executive and X owner is a powerful ally.

September 2024

Kamala Harris began her debate with Donald Trump in evident nervousness. Within about 20 minutes, she visibly loosened up.

Kamala Harris has the measure of Donald Trump

By any objective measure, the vice president won the debate – even some Fox News pundits called it a bad night for her rival. Voters, however, might not agree.

August 2024

Kamala Harris.

Harris’ refusal to answer questions is only hurting herself

The Democratic presidential nominee’s reluctance to do media interviews will not help sell her to undecided voters before the November election.

Kamala Harris.

The astonishing metamorphosis of Kamala Harris

Her shift from indifferent vice president to source of Obama-scale enthusiasm has caught many unaware. Yet Democratic talk of victory is dangerously premature.

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Don’t mention the war. Protesters outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

‘Gaza’ is the word Democrats dare not whisper in Chicago

Silence is the wisest option for Kamala Harris on a divisive election issue that is harming the global image of the US.

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Kamala Harris campaigns with running mate Tim Walz at a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Why Harris’ new running mate is no J.D. Vance

Tim Walz is a blue-collar moderate who branded the Trump-Vance ticket “weird”. His working-class appeal can help Democrats prevail in swing states.

July 2024

The Democrats must decide between a coronation of the vice-president or a divisive contested convention.

Kamala Harris is now fighting in uncharted territory

The Democrats must decide between a coronation of the vice president or a divisive contested convention.

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America is staring into the abyss

A bullet almost killed the man who is vowing retribution if he is returned to the White House. A spirit of vengeance is haunting America.

June 2024

Donald Trump’s plans add up to higher borrowing costs, soaring inflation and a decisive shift towards deglobalisation.

A recession if Trump wins is just the start

Joe Biden has not targeted the former president’s trade policy during the campaign, but it would be disastrous for the US, and the rest of the world.

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Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/edward-luce-h1fprd