Seven Lessons Trump Learned, Incompletely

Trump learned Washington is filled with personal and organizational enemies. Rather than understanding that people may hate him and institutions may fear him, he lumps them together... he fails to focus on their various systemic weaknesses, and how to exploit those weaknesses. If MAGA is truly a war against the Deep State, it deserves a war-oriented strategy. Trump must understand the logistics of the enemy - how the deep state army is fed, watered, armed, and trained. Instead he seeks “friendly” allies among the deep state, trading favors as seen with his endorsement of House Speaker Mike Johnson in order to be certified quickly...

Second, Trump has correctly learned many federal agencies are unnecessary, over-funded, extra-constitutional and out of control... Accordingly, instead of vacating, defunding, and eradicating “low-hanging fruit” agencies, he has nominated agency heads to “lead the dissolution.” These potential appointees are excellent leaders; and their natural inclination will be to “fix” the agency they rule, rather than delete it...

Third, Trump learned the Pentagon will not obey orders, and will directly lie to the President... Having military men and women in his cabinet, like Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth, who have seen the dark side of Pentagon arrogance and stupidity, is a good thing - but he reveals his true deference for the military industrial complex with his other appointments, including those purported peacemakers in hotspots like Ukraine and Israel...

The lesson Trump has taken, if his current proposals to buy Denmark, take back Panama, and absorb Canada are considered, is that the US can, and should, be an expansionist empire - not a self-governed Constitutional Republic...

Sixth, ... he understands personal and business debt. Accordingly, he believes debt should be repaid, and borrowing should be rational not magical. Sadly, the lessons he has learned are not appropriate for, and do not translate to, US government debt. The Federal Reserve creates imaginary money, and this debt must - and eventually will - be repudiated...