His recent intervention in the World Cup drew global criticism; he responded by suggesting that if Belgium beat the US, it would be rigged, similar to the 2020 election.
Ethics relies on collective standards of right and wrong, but Trump operates without any standards. His approach is transactional, focused solely on winning at any cost.
He is not unethical but non-ethical, not immoral but amoral.
This difficulty in imagining a world without standards is key to Trump's power.
By being the first to break widely accepted norms, he gains a first-mover advantage, similar to a thief in a trusting community.
He exploits trust, then leaves others to bear the costs of protecting themselves.
As president, Trump shatters larger norms for greater personal benefit, damaging institutions like NATO, FIFA, and the US Department of Justice, which rely on trust that no president would act as he has.
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He will be remembered as the most powerful but worst US president, leaving a mess for others to clean up.
