Why is Donald Trump levelling across-the-board tariffs? Does he have Australia in his sights? I have spent the week in Washington speaking to some of his economic, national security and political advisers, and have received many different answers. No one person has given me a complete explanation. But this is my assessment of what is going on and how it might play out.

First some context. Trump is not a traditional Republican internationalist, but neither is he an isolationist nor a nativist. He wants to maintain and entrench American primacy and leadership, but not in the way we have become accustomed to since the 1990s. The questions we must ask are how does he believes he is enhancing American power and reimagining its place in the world, and what does it mean for us?