Trump’s week of whiplash rattles markets, allies and his own administration

Unpredictability has long been one of President Donald Trump’s strongest assets. The uncertainty that follows is one of his most confounding.

Unpredictability has long been one of President Donald Trump’s strongest assets. The uncertainty that follows is one of his most confounding. From the financial markets to foreign capitals, a fresh sense of Trump-inspired whiplash reverberated across the globe this week, raising questions about whether his decisions on trade, Ukraine aid or the federal workforce are rooted in strategy or impulse. “Look, our country’s been ripped off by everybody,” Trump said Friday. “That stops now.” The seventh week of his presidency was scripted to be something of a triumphant one, with a prime-time address to a joint session of Congress intended to rally Republicans around his agenda. But the week was instead dominated by what Trump did, not simply what he said, particularly in reversing course on tariffs. A day after imposing them on Canada and Mexico, he pulled back, acquiescing to the nation’s top automakers by granting a one-month reprieve. A day later, his decision to backtrack again by delaying even more Mexico-Canada tariffs sent the financial markets into a downward state of confusion.