April 2 (UPI) -- Wednesday is the day that Donald Trump's tariff scheme should go into effect. Possibly it shall if the president is not using tariffs for negotiations or other intentions. Or perhaps the president has additional motives. And Thursday could be the day of reckoning.
Regardless, the threat and uncertainty of impending tariffs have shaken markets and rattled investors. But beyond this one area, the Trump administration in 10 weeks has moved forward with remarkable speed across many areas.
Having spent last week in Paris and met with a number of old and new hands, the reactions abroad especially to the infamous Signal conference call before the Yemen strikes and the disparaging of NATO and Europe could not be more negative.
How could this turn of events have happened so rapidly since Trump became president? These examples of MAD -- massive attacks of disruption -- re stunning in the extreme and cross virtually all international and domestic boundaries. Would any of them in such a short time frame been predictable?
First, Trump learned a great deal during his initial presidency. Scholars may debate that in his own idiosyncratic way, Trump was better prepared for a second term than his predecessors. And that he has moved so quickly to implement his plans is evidence.
Second, whether or not the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 was Trump's blueprint, much of what it proposed reflected the president's thinking. And his nominees, no matter how controversial, conformed to his plans for governing.
Third, he maintained his brain trust. Senior adviser and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has been with Trump for years. During four years in the wilderness after losing in 2016, the team had ample opportunity to refine and expand its thinking and views on governing.
Fourth, despite its gold toilets and other garish displays of wealth, Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., took on the role of a super salon at which the ex-president held court. An invitation was seen as a reward. Indeed, it is hard to recall any other presidential residence having been used as a political tool. Not only that. Because Trump made no effort to separate himself from other members and residents, the place had a special appeal in terms of public relations.
Fifth, Trump is a great showman. He was able to refine his acts accordingly using much of America's passion for sports and other events at which he would appear and dominate proceedings. From wrestling championships to NASCAR racing events, Trump was the people's president in action, observing and congratulating winners. And frequent appearances on Fox News helped.
Last, by having events televised from the White House, Trump dominated the political spectrum, crowding out the competition. Democrats may have made occasional attempts to intervene. However, Trump trumped them.
It is unclear how or when Team Trump grabbed on to common sense and used it as a weapon to drive Democrats crazy and turn them seemingly into the anti-common sense party. Transgender issues are one example. With some 80% of Americans condemning boys playing girl's sports, Democrats decided to back the 20%.
Still, the consequences of the Trump initiatives are turning against him. The Signal conference call on the Red Sea bombing mission against the Houthis had Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic Magazine's editor-in-chief, incredibly dialed in. Worse, Trump's Cabinet officers lied in dismissing the event as trivial. Ask our closest allies their views and whether they will trust us with sensitive intelligence.
The tariffs will hit and hurt a majority of Americans. Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency is inadvertently following the first law of counterterrorism: kill one; create 10 more. By its heavy handed tactics, Musk is doing just that.
The efforts to bring peace to Israel and Gaza were noble. Tragically and predictably, failure seemed likely. Ukraine is an IED -- an improvised explosive device. Here, Trump has double-trapped himself.
He cannot control Russian President Vlsdimir Putin. While Trump has humiliated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv will not agree to terms that make Russia the arbiter of Ukraine's future. And Trump may be losing confidence in Putin.
Over the weekend, the president was unhappy with the lack of Russian progress and complained, "I am pissed!" How that translates into Russian remains to be seen. But, because of the unprecedented pace of change and disruption, Trump is in trouble.
On the current course, a day of reckoning is inevitable. Then what?
Harlan Ullman is UPI's Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist, senior adviser at Washington's Atlantic Council, chairman of a private companies and principal author of the doctrine of shock and awe. His next book, co-written with General The Lord David Richards, former U.K. chief of defense and due out late next year, is Arc of Failure: Can Decisive Strategic Thinking Transform a Dangerous World? The writer can be reached on X @harlankullman.