India, April 9 -- Donald Trump assumed his second presidency as the darling of corporate America. Even before he was elected, some of the biggest names on Wall Street and in corporate America backed Trump. Much of that bonhomie has disappeared after his imposition of reciprocal tariffs which, unless rolled back, is bound to give a body blow to the global trading order. Stocks markets are having a meltdown, not just in the US but almost the entire world. Why is Trump refusing to walk back on his policies?

This two-part series will try and answer this question by looking at seemingly disparate but connected issues. The analysis leads to the conclusion that while Trump might be right in ignoring the outrage over the ongoing carnage in the s...