WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL: …[Donald Trump’s] politics are fundamentally personal, and not merely in the sense that he is compelled to make himself the center of attention. The businessman’s convictions on public matters are elusive; he is an unreliable guide to his own program, which can change from day to day; and to the extent he has a guiding ideology it is an invincible conviction in his own instincts, business ability and understanding of human nature…
Mr. Trump also knows remarkably little about most policy questions, and he does not sweat the details. This means he’d be more dependent on his advisers than most Presidents, if he’s willing to listen to them. His Administration would probably be as improvisational and disorganized as his campaign…
Without the U.S. as the anchor of the global system, adversaries like China, Russia and Iran will continue to push for hegemony in their regions. Mr. Trump’s comments this week casting doubt on the U.S. commitment to NATO suggests he thinks allies can be bullied like real-estate lenders. He pledges to destroy Islamic State, but his only specific policy for doing so is immigration control. America’s role in the world is by far the largest Trump gamble… (more)
