He changes the environment so completely that the original attack almost becomes irrelevant.

And that's why his opponents always look like they're one move behind.

They're not one move behind.

They're reading yesterday's notes.

Trump never had a playbook.

He's writing the next page while they're still highlighting the last one.

The Soviet Union wasn't defeated because Americans invaded Moscow.

East Germany didn't collapse because somebody delivered a really angry tweet.

Authoritarian systems eventually begin eating themselves. They become so obsessed with controlling everyone else that they forget to maintain themselves.

It's political auto-cannibalism.

I've never seen political opponents spend so much money marketing somebody else's brand.

It's like Coca-Cola buying Pepsi commercials.

Thank you for your contribution.

Foreign adversaries make another interesting mistake.

They assume America is divided enough that we won't defend ourselves.

History suggests otherwise.

Americans argue constantly.

We debate taxes.

We debate spending.

We debate who ruined Thanksgiving.

But when somebody outside decides America should lose?

That conversation changes.

Very quickly.

The people betting against America usually discover they've mistaken cable television for national character.

Those are not the same thing.

Here's the larger lesson.

Strength isn't about wanting conflict.

Strength is convincing the other guy that conflict would be the dumbest decision he'll make all year.

That's deterrence.

It's cheaper than war.

It's faster than war.

And it usually prevents war.

As for the Democratic Party, they're facing a different problem.

They're discovering that the American people have become much harder to frighten.

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