India, May 1 -- That the second Donald Trump administration would be more aggressive about his core politics than the first was almost a given.Many analysts expected it to be protectionist and anti-immigrant; dismissive ofmultilateral and rules-based forums; and driven byvendetta against those whohad opposed the US President either in his first term, or the years in between. If the first hundred days of the second Trump presidency havestillsurprised people, it is not in terms ofdirection but magnitude.

Trump's constant focus on pushingthe envelope on each of these policies has begun to test the resilience of not just his politics but the US's hegemonic position in the world.

Hisself-proclaimed foreign policy prowess is being tested in b...