Trump the Arsonist: How He Lights the Fire and Calls Himself the Hero

Manufacturing Crises, Claiming Credit, and Shifting Blame

When Donald Trump stepped onto the political stage, he promised to "Make America Great Again." His supporters hailed him as a master negotiator and a savior of American interests. But the reality of Trump's leadership is often paradoxical: a pattern of manufacturing crises, taking credit for solutions he didn’t create, and blaming others for problems he helped cause.

The Self-Made Crisis Playbook

One of the clearest examples of Trump’s approach was the family separation policy. Under his administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy, thousands of children were forcibly taken from their parents at the border. The outcry was massive, drawing condemnation from both sides of the aisle. Yet, when Trump signed an executive order to end the very policy his administration created, MAGA supporters applauded, treating it as an act of strength, not the reversal it truly was.

We saw the same playbook during the government shutdown over the border wall. Trump demanded $5.7 billion for a border wall, and when Congress refused, he initiated the longest government shutdown in U.S. history: 35 days of unpaid federal workers, halted services, and economic strain. Ultimately, he reopened the government without securing wall funding, abandoning the very demand that triggered the standoff.

Even on the international stage, Trump employed the self-made crisis model. His withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, a pact that had successfully limited Iran’s nuclear capabilities, plunged the region back into tension. When conflict escalated, he framed himself as a peacemaker, the only leader tough enough to bring Iran back to the table. Sure enough, now in 2025, he is pursuing a new nuclear agreement with Iran. The same man who tore up the original deal and branded it a disaster now casts himself as the architect of peace, conveniently forgetting the instability he helped ignite.

This tactic has resurfaced in 2025, with Trump’s aggressive new tariffs on imports. In April, he introduced a universal 10% tariff on all imports, with specific hikes such as a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, under the guise of protecting American industries. Predictably, this led to inflation spikes, retaliatory tariffs, and economic strain for U.S. manufacturers and farmers.

As global markets reeled and domestic pressure mounted, Trump recently announced a 90-day pause on Chinese tariffs, rolling them back from 145% to 30%, with China reciprocating by reducing their retaliatory measures. His administration quickly framed this as a "major trade victory," even though the economic strain stemmed directly from his own aggressive hikes just weeks earlier. Critics have labeled this move a capitulation trade, not a negotiation success.

Despite his claims that “150 countries” are eager to make deals, his administration has continued to escalate trade tensions on other fronts. Trump has threatened a 50% tariff on all European Union imports, set to take effect June 1, following stalled negotiations with Brussels. He has also threatened a 25% tariff on all imported smartphones, including those from Apple and Samsung, as part of a push to pressure companies into domestic production.

These unpredictable moves have done little to salvage the global trust the U.S. has lost as a result of Trump's erratic trade policies. International partners and global markets remain wary of America’s stability as a trading partner, with European and Asian markets now exploring trade pacts that exclude the U.S. entirely. Trump may claim victory, but the rest of the world sees volatility and unreliability.

Taking Credit for Another’s Work

Trump’s method doesn’t end with creating crises. He’s also a master of taking credit for the work of others. He repeatedly claimed responsibility for the Veterans Choice Act, boasting at rallies that he finally provided veterans with the healthcare options they deserved. The truth? The bill was signed into law by President Obama in 2014. Trump merely signed an extension.

Similarly, Trump heralded his administration as the reason for NATO funding increases, proclaiming that he forced allies to pay their fair share. But the agreement to boost spending was reached in 2014, years before Trump entered office. His bluster may have expedited some payments, but the groundwork was already laid.

In the realm of health care, Trump celebrated the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines under Operation Warp Speed. While the distribution logistics were organized during his term, the mRNA technology behind Pfizer’s vaccine had been under development for years and was heavily funded during the Obama administration.

This tendency has continued into 2025. As the economy shows signs of tentative recovery after pandemic disruptions, Trump has eagerly claimed credit for any upward trends, citing his previous policies as the foundation for success. Meanwhile, he blames President Biden for "ruining the economy," despite global markets still reeling from the impact of his trade wars and tariffs.

Trump is now claiming credit for lowering prescription drug prices, despite reversing several Biden-era initiatives that aimed to do just that. On day one, he scrapped Executive Order 14087 and shut down pilot programs designed to cap out-of-pocket costs and rein in high-priced drugs. In May, he unveiled a “most-favored-nation” pricing model, tying U.S. drug prices to those in other countries. This mirrored powers already granted to Medicare under the still-active Inflation Reduction Act.

And now, Trump is proposing a $5,000 child tax credit expansion, a move that echoes Kamala Harris’s earlier proposal of a $6,000 bonus for new parents, part of a broader Biden-Harris family support framework. Once again, Trump dismisses what came before, rebrands a similar proposal, and attempts to claim ownership.

Even more brazen: Trump recently claimed credit for securing over $2 trillion in Middle Eastern investment deals, many of which were finalized before he took office. A Washington Post review found that at least half a dozen of these contracts were announced during Biden’s presidency in 2023 and 2024, including an $8.5 billion liquefied natural gas deal with Qatar that was publicly disclosed before Trump returned to office. Despite this, the White House labeled him “the dealmaker in chief” and included these previously announced contracts in their tally of "trillions" in investment. No explanation was given.

Whether it’s legislation, economic trends, drug pricing, or international agreements, Trump’s plan is always the same. The phrasing may change, but the playbook remains. Even entitlement programs he vowed to protect, claiming he wouldn’t cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, have landed back on the chopping block, with his allies now pushing budget frameworks that threaten long-standing protections under the guise of fiscal discipline.

Blame Shifting: The Art of Deflection

Perhaps one of Trump’s most frequent strategies is deflection: blaming others for problems he either caused or exacerbated. He criticized Obama for leaving the pandemic response team unprepared, despite the Trump administration dismantling the pandemic office in 2018. He blamed rising national debt on Democrats, even though his tax cuts and increased military spending added more than $7 trillion in four years.

The most absurd example may be Trump blaming the border crisis on his predecessors. His administration’s hardline policies, such as family separations and the “Remain in Mexico” program, not only deepened the humanitarian crisis but also destabilized the border system itself. By overwhelming courts, straining enforcement resources, and fueling chaos in neighboring countries, these policies often made the system less secure—not more. Yet Trump has repeatedly pointed fingers at Obama and Biden, despite implementing policies that dramatically escalated the problem.

Another ridiculous claim: even the very trade agreement Trump once celebrated, USMCA, is now back in his rhetorical crosshairs. In a recent speech, Trump referred to current U.S. trade arrangements with Mexico and Canada as “horrible,” asking, “Who the hell made these deals? They're so bad.” But it was Trump himself who signed the USMCA into law in 2020, replacing NAFTA, and declaring it “the best trade deal, they say, ever made,” a "historic breakthrough" by his own account at the time. His reversal not only undermines the credibility of that agreement, it highlights yet again the pattern: claim credit when convenient, disown it when politically expedient.

Now in 2025, the script remains the same. Trump has railed against President Biden for inflation and supply chain issues, despite the roots of these problems stemming from his aggressive tariffs and trade wars. His new tariffs this year have sparked fresh global tensions, yet he frames them as "necessary corrections" to policies he himself put in place. Meanwhile, he continues to paint President Biden as weak on the world stage, even as he cozies up to authoritarian leaders. He has called Vladimir Putin “savvy,” downplaying the war in Ukraine as a mere “border dispute,” and accepting lavish gifts like a $500 million luxury plane from Qatar. He has publicly aligned with Netanyahu’s Gaza strategy, even proposing the relocation of Palestinians and turning the Strip into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” a plan Netanyahu applauded and human rights groups condemned as ethnic cleansing. He threatens to abandon NATO obligations, undermining the very alliances that once underpinned his own claims of foreign policy strength. The paradox is stark: Trump sets the fire, watches it burn, and then stands amid the flames with a bucket of water claiming to be the hero.

The Global Fallout: A Crisis of Trust

Trump’s erratic policies and relentless deflections have not only damaged domestic industries but also shaken global trust in the United States as a reliable partner. International allies, already wary after four years of volatility, now watch as the U.S. oscillates between aggressive protectionism and sudden reversals.

By instigating crises and then boasting of resolutions, Trump has turned U.S. policy into a chaotic loop of instability. And as global confidence erodes, the world moves on, without waiting for America to get its act together.

Conclusion: The Firefighter Who Strikes the Match

Trump’s political strategy is paradoxical. He thrives on the chaos he creates, claims credit for fixes he didn’t build, and blames others for the fallout of his decisions. His supporters see a "master negotiator," while critics see a man who manufactures disasters to play the role of savior. This pattern is not incidental. It is strategic, a method to consolidate power, control the narrative, and rally his base.

When history looks back, it may not remember Trump solely for his policies but for his uncanny ability to create the fire, throw gasoline on it, and then call himself the firefighter.