It’s clear that Trump doesn’t intend to reassure people right now as much as stun them. In line with reports that Jeff Sessions and others recommended he take a shock-and-awe
approach to his first weeks, Trump appears to be taking an approach of
bombardment followed by invasion. When you’re pounding the positions of
the opposing force, you don’t expect every bomb or shell to land
properly, nor do you know how much effect you’ve had. You just fire away
and then see what’s left behind the smoke. Explosions in one place will
distract from explosions in another. Think of how distant in memory are
the agitated warnings of trade war with Mexico. Mexico? That’s very
last week.