As U-turns go, it’s a game-changer.
Donald Trump has swung from pressing Ukraine to surrender territory to suggesting it’s able to win all its land back.
Yes, that’s the same Mr Trump who threw Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the White House in February and brought Russia‘s president Vladimir Putin in from the cold last month.
European leaders had flown to Washington en masse in August to urge caution in his dealings with Mr Putin.
“He let me down,” Mr Trump told reporters during last week’s state visit to the UK.
The US president’s dramatic change of heart is the culmination of a remarkable three days in his diary.
Whether he’s in front of a microphone or posting on social media, it’s Donald Trump versus the world.
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A string of bold remarks – his hatred for opponents, his unscientific advice about autism, and a fiery address at the United Nations General Assembly – revealed the extent to which he thrives on controversy.
At a memorial service for the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the president departed from holy worship to launch an unholy attack.
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“I hate my opponents,” he declared, just moments after Mr Kirk’s widow Erika had publicly expressed forgiveness for her husband’s killer.
The president then turned the order of service into a list of his political achievements – talking crime, immigration, tariffs and touting “one of the biggest announcements in medical history”.
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The following day, he sensationally claimed to have “found an answer on autism”.
His assertion that the use of acetaminophen (marketed as Tylenol or Paracetamol) during pregnancy increases the risk of autism is highly contested.
There were countless jaw-dropping moments, from his inability to pronounce acetaminophen to his claim that Cuba has “virtually no autism” because people there cannot afford acetaminophen.
In 2023, Cuba’s autism rate was around 83.3 per 10,000 children, slightly higher than the US rate of 80.9 in 10,000.
On Tuesday, the president went to the UN to deride its effectiveness, dismiss climate change as a “con job” and tell members their countries were “going to hell”.
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Taken together with the U-turn on Ukraine, these episodes reveal an emboldened president, who’s feeling less constrained than ever.
Mr Trump’s combative style energises his base, but it comes with the risk of deepening polarisation.
His bold and brash approach is causing political earthquakes, and we are only nine months into his four-year term.
