The Autopilot Presidency

Who is actually running the country right now?

Something has shifted—and not subtly—in the political orbit of Donald Trump. What might once have been dismissed as impulsiveness or theatrical excess now feels like something more consequential: a presidency veering into open incoherence. The question that once lingered at the margins—whether the president is mentally fit to continue in office—is moving, rapidly, toward the center of public discourse. And uncomfortably for those inside the administration, it is a question that figures like JD Vance can no longer indefinitely dodge.

The latest episodes are not merely embarrassing; they are destabilizing. A bizarre and aggressive attack on Pope Leo—a target so unusual it almost feels surreal—has been paired with a series of foreign policy lurches that would be alarming even if they were internally consistent. They are not. The Pope, notably more composed than his critic, has declined to escalate while making clear he will not be cowed. That alone would be a strange diplomatic sideshow in any other administration. Here, it barely registers against the larger chaos.

Because the real story is not rhetorical excess—it’s strategic collapse.

Consider the Strait of Hormuz, that narrow artery through which a significant portion of the world’s oil flows. Not long ago, Trump dismissed its importance to the United States, effectively shrugging and suggesting that other nations—those more dependent on the oil—should worry about securing it. Now, in a whiplash-inducing reversal, his administration is preparing to impose a naval blockade on that very waterway. Same strait, same president, entirely different reality.