Trump will always amaze you. But he will never surprise you.

The president will never, ever change

President Donald Trump.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Your high school English teacher probably taught you that one of the key elements of drama is change. The protagonist of a novel almost always emerges different at the end than she was at the beginning: She grows, she learns, she discovers her weaknesses and overcomes them, she finds the courage she didn't know she had. Without that change, stories are usually flatter and less interesting.

That's not how it works in real life, however, and the main character in our current national story — one Donald J. Trump — is uniquely immune to growth and change. Which means that it isn't hard to predict what he's going to do in any given situation. Over the next three years, President Trump will continue to amaze you. But he will never surprise you.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.