Mr Trump is more transactional than presidents before him, which increases the risk of cronyism and self-dealing. But America’s economy, including its technology industry, is too unwieldy and dynamic to petrify into an actual oligarchy, whatever diplomats and departing presidents say. ■

Klee’s “Angelus Novus” is used by Benjamin, who at the time was fleeing from the gestapo, as a metaphor for the illusion behind the capitalist idea of progress. In the end, like this notion of progress, Trump’s pursuit of a “Golden Age” can only lead to disaster and ruin, to catastrophe for the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The world’s richest people are done feigning concern for vulnerable communities or our democracy. Trump can do whatever he wants, and they can, too