"Trump's only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president's ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united. And as long as he makes them feel that way, they will let him get away with anything, no matter what it costs them."
Adam Serwer
"To better understand the president's foreign policy, one must study the behavior of small children. ... Intellectual honesty does not seem to be the hallmark of this administration's foreign policy. A more helpful way of understanding the president's whims is to think of him as a small child who develops an obsessive fixation on a new toy before losing all interest. You can wait him out or try to appease him, but you can't talk him into a rational assessment of cost versus benefit, or assume his stated preference will hold true for very long."
Jonathan Chait