Trump is unwilling, or unable, to consider that all of American society doesn’t function like the military. So, if a tweet fails to produce consequences, the president escalates, groping in the ether for levers to exert the power of his displeasure. In August 2019, for example, in a series of late-night tweets, Trump raged against Chinese trade policy and arrived at, “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing . . . your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.”

