Trump's publicity stunts end up making America weaker

DOES anyone still remember the Carrier deal? Back in December, president-elect Donald Trump announced, triumphantly, that he had reached a deal with the air-conditioner manufacturer to keep 1,100 jobs in America rather than moving them to Mexico. And the media spent days celebrating the achievement.

Actually, the number of jobs involved was more like 700, but who's counting? Around 75,000 US workers are laid off or fired every working day, so a few hundred here or there hardly matter for the overall picture.

Whatever Mr Trump did or didn't achieve with Carrier, the real question was whether he would take steps to make a lasting difference.