Trump is pushing the US further towards kleptocracy

AMERICA certainly has a different kind of president than what it is used to. What distinguishes Donald Trump from his predecessors is not just his temperament and ignorance, but also his approach to policymaking.

First, consider Bill Clinton, who in 1992 was, like Mr Trump, elected without a majority of voters. Once in office, Mr Clinton appealed to the left with fiscal-stimulus and healthcare bills (both unsuccessful), but also tacked centre with a pro-growth deficit-reduction bill. He appealed to the centre right by concluding the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), which had been conceived under his Republican predecessors; and by signing a major crime bill. And he reappointed the conservative stalwart Alan Greenspan to chair the US Federal Reserve.

Mr Clinton hoped to achieve three things with this "triangulation" strategy: to enact policies that would effectively address the country's problems; to convince voters who hadn't supported him that he was looking out for their interests, too; and to keep his own base intact.