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Donald Trump’s stream of grand pronouncements is keeping the world guessing, even as Russian military aggression spills into Europe.
Yet the US President, who said he could end Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine in 24 hours, is following a four-decade-old playbook.
His latest proclamations include saying Kyiv can ‘win all of Ukraine back in its original form’ as he made a huge pivot on the conflict.
While analysts of various descriptions debate what may or may not follow from his remarks, the Trump methodology is in plain sight.
In fact, the approach can be boiled down to just 40 words.
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In his 1987 co-authored book, The Art of the Deal, Trump spelt out a strategy that he has deployed to devastating effect, from his presidential race against vanquished Democrat contender Kamala Harris to his seeming reversal on his favourable stance towards Putin.
‘I play to people’s fantasies,’ Trump wrote.
‘People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.
‘I call it truthful hyperbole.
‘It is an innocent form of exaggeration – and a very effective form of promotion.’
In the context of Trump’s latest spell at the White House, ‘truthful hyperbole’ has meant a Manhattan skyline of grandiose claims.
There are the campaign pledges to ‘carry out the largest deportation in American history’ and to ‘build a great iron dome missile defence shield over our entire country.’
Spelt out in capitals on the 2024 manifesto, the pledges are straight out of a playbook which was released before X or YouTube existed.
Over the course of his presidency to date, Trump has floated his ‘Gaza Riviera’ plan, a ‘grand celebration’ for his country’s 250th birthday on July 4 next year and made the bold Ukraine assertion.
Emma Serlin, a communication expert at the London Speech Workshop, has observed the spell that the president can cast over audiences, focusing on his speech at the UN in New York.
Some of Trump's biggest calls
‘Build a huge wall– and make Mexico pay for it’
Some partial new structures were erected in his first term in office but all the funding came from US taxpayer sources.
US next-generation ‘Golden Dome’ missile shield
Advanced missile defence system remains a work in progress.
‘Carry out the biggest deportation in US history‘
While there has been a crackdown on various types of immigration, the plan has encountered legal and logistical hurdles.
‘End the Russia war on Ukraine on day one’
Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine either within 24 hours of taking office or sooner than that. He told Time magazine in April 2025 that he hadn’t been speaking literally or seriously.
‘Ukraine can win back its land’
Trump has also specified that Ukraine could ‘maybe even go further than that’ without going into detail.
‘Trump places himself as the hero, saving America and the world,’ Emma said. ‘He has huge landing statements presented as fact, such as saying that he has ended seven “unendable” wars and that climate change is the “greatest con job” ever perpetrated on the world.
‘The UN is placed as the incumbent system, the failure, holding the world back. His use of language is extreme and while it’s almost laughable, that confidence with which he makes these declarative statements starts to sow that seed of doubt and makes people think that maybe he has ended those wars and climate change is a con job.
‘It’s a really interesting notion that someone places themselves so confidently as the hero and others as the anti-Christ. He lives in a hyperbolic world where he saves the world in a fight with this big organisation, migration and the con job of climate change.
‘The power of these statements and his laconic and confident style of delivery make it feels like he’s making a point. It’s a fascinating display of narcissism and it’s compelling.’
Trump, 79, last month declared ‘Liberation Day’ for Washington DC as he deployed the National Guard to ‘rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.’
On Tuesday, he again showed his propensity for thinking big as he made a series of wild claims in a wide-ranging address before the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.
His 57-minute speech included wrongly claiming that his hardline policies have stopped all illegal immigration into the US, and that Europe is being ruined by ‘uncontrolled immigration.’
The fact-checkers are unlikely to diminish the man promising to Make America Great Again in the eyes of his followers.
‘Even when Trump deviates and is waffly his followers seem willing to indulge him because there’s a sense of being with someone who with such presence and incredible, compelling self-belief,’ Emma said.
‘In the eyes of his followers, he’s separated himself out in a superhero zone and it’s like they will follow him blindly.
‘It would be crazy to ignore the power of someone’s ability to doggedly fight for their huge narcissistic, megalomaniac vision.’
Trump’s critics see little or no substance behind the conjurings of the first former president in US history to be convicted of a felony, resulting from his trial on hush money charges in May 2024.
But the communications specialist nonetheless believes he could use his force of personality for ‘extraordinary global change.’
‘Trump’s determination and drive are undeniable, but his lack of focus on humanity, connection, or planetary stewardship diminishes his potential as a transformative leader,’ she said.
‘If channelled toward unity and progress, his powerful charisma could be a force for extraordinary global change.’
Trump’s projection of presidential superpower may be wearing thin, as his approval rating among US adults is lower than at the same point in Joe Biden’s term, and in his first spell in office, according to YouGov.
However, it is unlikely that the incumbent will deviate from the playbook – even as global security hangs in the balance.
Re-enter the Art of the Deal.
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