We don’t know how to talk about Trump, because we’re using now-obsolete framing. He isn’t going to be the kind of president we’ve had before. The old questions do not apply. There is now, or soon will be, only one question: Can we work with this man? There are two answers: Yes, you can, and no, you shouldn’t.

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But in reality, the answer is far starker. Yes, you can, and yes, you will, or you will suffer. Feel like being a martyr today?

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Because the single constant in how to understand the Trump presidency will be this: power. His. That’s what to watch, because that is what it will be all about. And there is little you will be able to do but watch, unless you are in a position to cash in with him. In either case, resistance is futile. That will be the message anyway: Play ball, or play dead. The choice is yours.

I’m not sure yet whether Trump sees it quite this way. He likes to think of himself as the good guy. But I think he’s catching on pretty quickly. The path he is on is not hard to figure out, and you know what they say about path dependency. Right?

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And oh, this path just happens to correspond to every aspect of his personality. And what are those? Self-aggrandizement and accumulation. Of money. Of power. But power is better. Money is like power, but indirectly. Power! Now that’s power! And how much is enough with somebody like Trump? It’s never enough.

His apparently erratic moves may or may not be intentional, but either way, they work for him. They demonstrate that principle is not his guiding … well … principle. He can turn on you in an instant. He can turn back. He can turn it on and turn it off. He can make you, he can break you. If you do what he wants, he’s your friend forever. If you don’t, you’re his enemy forever. Until you capitulate. Which you will, because principle isn’t really your thing either. Survival is.