In the first Trump administration the so called guardrails protected the country from Trump’s worst impulses. This time he and his enablers have quickly removed the guardrails and what we’re learning is not only that the guardrails protected the country, they also protected Trump. The disorienting ramblings of a mad king are easy to dismiss when the mess is neatened up by adroit handlers. When the ramblings follow a period of global economic chaos, they are less easy to disregard and their incoherence is both more apparent and scarier.