To the despair expressed by those who learned something from our regime-change experiment in Iraq, one can only add tears, weeping for the loss of the few moderating voices who briefly surrounded the president. With the exception of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who seems wisest in all ways, most others have abandoned ship, either through firing, resignation or gettin’ while the gettin’s good.

With so many battles on so many fronts, not to mention a possible tariff war and Thursday’s 724-point market plunge, Trump still managed to find time to engage in a meaningless war of words, in the only combat theater this flat-footed deferred veteran has ever known.

Donald Trump — gladiator of earthly delights, hawker of shams and artist of lies — loves chaos, he has said. Well, then, he must be a very happy man. But one of these days, considering all of the above, something is going to blow up. Let’s hope it isn’t us.