This is all highly speculative and subject to trump getting what he wants at every turn: I think he is going for the big tamale. I think he wants to become supreme dictator of north america. I dont think he cares about approval ratings or the whims of the bourgeoise. I think he has the support of the military and is going to lean into that. He’s going to make a total war economy before starting a total war with China.

I did a bit of looking into the foreign aid ban and the investigations into state department and pentagon officials and the details are slim but it sounds like he is doing a purge.

I think he and the right wing have realized usa can’t compete against state owned arms manufacturers and banks. So the plan is to declare the profit gouging (like the $52k garbage can) by defence contractors as treason or some such. They’ll build up a case against all the companies selling things to the government at inflated cost and then force them to nationalize. They’ll make a government monopoly on arms manufacture and vertically integrate them so they can produce weapons at a lower cost by not paying shareholders or middle men. This probably means they will do this for some other industries like steel mills and even mines. I think he’ll leave tech companies and farming alone.

The tariffs will be coupled with large numbers of visas for temporary workers. High cost of living in canada and mexico will drive people to work in america for slightly better wages. Meanwhile he will raise the pay for joining the army and maybe even offer citizenship to white canadians who join the military as a way to make the annexation of canada easier. If a salary from a entry level soldier can raise a family and all the low skill jobs are filled with migrant labor americans will have little choice but to join up.