If you want to understand Donald Trump and his recent trade sanctions on Europe, Canada and Mexico, you could do worse than to study professional wrestling. Unlike rules-based boxing, pro wrestling purports to be a no-holds-barred morality play.
It is a comic book world in which “good guys” fight “bad guys”, throw folding chairs, and engage in a lot of posing and fakery. There is no strategy, only psychology.
This is what we are dealing with in the latest round of global trade tiffs. Imagine President Trump in tight red briefs with an American flag painted on his chest and an “I love Mom” tattoo on his bicep and you have the idea. There is no real plan; he is just playing to his Rust Belt base before the midterm elections.