Oh, he’s acting rationally from the perspective of someone who thinks he has all the answers and wants to throw his weight around. He’s trying to be a tough business guy to China and is only backing off when someone finally manages to explain to him that it’s a bad idea in terms simple enough that he can sit through them.

Because even oligarchs aren’t kings.

There’s always another goalpost.

There’s also the fact that despite the economic recovery post-pandemic, every-day Joes didn’t see the recovery in their paycheck - and at the same time, inflation (price gouging, really) was rampant. The salt of the earth tends to vote by their wallet, and wallets were feeling the pinch at election time.

That, plus Democrats’ well-known propensity for utter failure at messaging, practically guaranteed a Trump victory.