America’s economic and political chaos has implications for Australia

The gripping stoush between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was emblematic of America’s slide into a kind of corrupt flakiness. Yesterday’s decision to call in the National Guard to put down immigration protests in Los Angeles was equally gripping, but much more serious. Californian governor Gavin Newsom called it “purposefully inflammatory”, which looks spot on. Remember Trump’s use of emergency declarations to impose tariffs. Meanwhile, tanks were rolling into Washington DC ahead of the big autocracy-esque military parade on June 14, which happens to be the president’s birthday. America has become a bewildering blend of the ridiculous and the deadly…