New New World Otder

Donald Trump is either a doofus or a strategic genius. He is certainly jettisoning much of what had been the liberal agenda of the last fifty years -- "free" trade, NATO, "diversity, " open borders, socialism, China's  hegemony, high U.S. taxes, deferral to the Federal Reserve, global warming, nuclear proliferation, anti-Zionism, pro-EU, pro-Muslin, etc. -- together known as the "New World Order."

Trump is upsetting or redefining the tacit acceptance of these memes ... mostly to keep or restore America's place in the world's power structure. He has sensed that the path that China was following would, in very short order, place its foot on the neck of his country. And this was unacceptable to him and his MAGA pledge. Viewing many f Trump's moves  in this light begins to add some rationality to what, to many, has been characterized as bizarre behavior.

For example, let's look at the White House's opening to Russia. I am certain that Trump understands the risks involved in this strategic pirouette. Yes, Putin is a bad actor ... but so was Stalin ... much, much worse ... yet, our alliance with him was instrumental in winning World War II. I think Trump views America's current challenge to be the strategic equivalent. so do I ... and this is the primary reason I can overlook much of Trump's acerbic style.

Let's imagine for a minute what might have been discussed in that private room in Helsinki ... maybe merely implied if not explicitly stated. I can postulate two alliances:

- A swing toward neutralizing China's growing belligerence. Russia, although anemic economically is a military and nuclear powerhouse ... and it sits right on top of China. This neutralizing role would return Russia to a major layer on the world chessboard.

- If the Muslim world finally coalesced into a caliphate bent on world domination, a Russia-U.S. alliance would be a formidable counterbalance. Putin is thought to be a devout Christan and has had his fill of radical Islam. I believe he sees Trump as a potential buddy in this bar fight.

Thus a Trump-Purim bromance might ameliorate these two major conundrums ... enough for Trump to invite Putin back for another tête-à-tête at the White House this fall ... and enough for Trump to punch through the current media frenzy.

It seems that much of the power-player animosity toward Trump comes from a realization that he is fundamentally changing this world-order game. They either resent overturning their gravy train ... or fear the unknown. Trump is playing a high-stakes game .. with not a lot of allies ... except middle America.