Is ‘toddler’ Trump on the brink of completely losing it?

What is Donald Trump on? There is not a day – make that a couple of hours, seemingly – that goes by at present without the US president provoking a shockwave and sparking headlines.

He has always been erratic, in business and in his first term. He tended to make decisions on a whim, often driven by a personal slight or niggling grievance. But now he has taken that brooding, capricious streak to a new height – or should that be a low.

He is loving it. The fact that I am writing this, whether he agrees with the content or not, fuels his limitless appetite for self‑promotion. It’s another piece about He Who Must Be Obeyed. He is King, Emperor, Omnipotent. He might stop at God, because too many of his supporters in his own country already treat that position as taken. Although who knows? Nothing appears beyond him.

He is brazen and shameless. Whether it is ensuring his family’s bank accounts are fattened as he tours the globe and conducts himself as America’s elected leader, or bullying and humiliating others, he does not care. In his eyes, he is not hiding anything – or much, anyway; instead, he puts it out there, which somehow validates his behaviour and, strangely, explains why so many Americans accept him.

Add blatant contradiction and lying to the mix. He’s not bothered – others may live by some widely accepted standard, but not him. One subject concerns him above all: himself. Everything else is secondary.

That yields unmanageable unpredictability. Last February, he approved of the Chagos Islands being handed back to Mauritius. The UK secured a 99‑year lease to continue using the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. Trump endorsed it, saying: “I have a feeling it's going to work out very well … I think we'll be inclined to go along with your country.”

Now, in a barrage of capital letters on his Truth Social platform, he has rejected it. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Trump had “expressed his support for this monumental achievement”. Today, Trump calls it “an act of great stupidity” and heaps further criticism on it.

Most of us find this hard to fathom; it is harder still for Sir Keir Starmer, a lawyer used to pedantic consistency. But Trump is unconcerned. He will make private text messages from other leaders public; he will link his desire for Greenland to being overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize. He simply shrugs.

Tomorrow, this one‑man, swirling maelstrom is due to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the fawning members of the so‑called elite of the political and financial worlds (elite – he will show ’em who is elite!) will receive the same treatment.

Is he mad? Many think so, and the evidence is mounting. Yet there may be method in his madness: it is about getting what he wants. He is like a small child denied a sweet or a toy – he screams until it is his. That impulse served him in real estate, chasing sites and visions others dismissed. Visit Manhattan and you see his tower, slap‑bang in the best spot; Las Vegas, where his name and building overlook the Strip; or any of the beautiful landscapes given over to his golf courses.

He does not care for Europe – its history, its patronising manner, its sense of entitlement. That much must be clear to Starmer, King Charles, Emmanuel Macron, and the other European leaders and their advisers. Nor does he have regard for Nato. In a cash transaction – which is how he views everything – if they do not put their money in, they do not sit at his table. They call themselves “partners”, but that is not how he defines a partner. They give him nothing, so they receive nothing back.

He knows how to push the envelope. He does not dream small; he goes big – to the max. He wants the top of the world: Greenland. He says it is vital for the protection of America – and, yes, Europe – but doubtless he also desires what lies beneath that melting tundra. When someone points out the inconsistency with Diego Garcia, he switches. We scream; he shrugs. As he might say, “live with it”.

Trump has everyone second‑guessing. At some point – perhaps soon – we should say “enough”. Signs of opposition are stirring in the US, which in turn hardens his international agenda. To Europe and Nato add the United Nations. He is carving out his own role – his “Peace Council” on Gaza is an example. It is grotesque, but Trump does not do grotesque – his remodelling of the White House proves that. The more we protest, the more he laughs. He expects a concession; it is the art of the deal.

So we go on, aboard his increasingly violent rollercoaster. In Davos, he will shock again, and the next day, and the next. It may stop – perhaps because of markets, domestic opposition, or his people deserting him. But when the brakes come – make no mistake – extra danger follows, as he lashes and rages.

We are not there yet. More shrieks await.