“Animal Cunning”: that is the most apt phrase I have seen to describe President Trump’s style. It was coined after the 2016 election by the American Classics Scholar and political commentator, Victor Davis Hanson, of Stanford University, and this piece in National Review Online by Conrad Black evinces that very characteristic.
Trump does not approach his prey with reason, flattery, dominance, or submission. He relies on them all. Like an animal that lies passively; purrs a little; rolls on his back; then growls or strikes with a fanged paw; then walks alongside his prey; or walks around him; circling, watching, hissing a little, at the right time.
Okay, I don’t want to overreach. But that is the sense he gives, and that Conrad captures here: always keeping his enemies – and even his friends – a little off-guard. Enjoy …
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/donald-trumps-north-korean-policy-succeeding/