Prompted by my belief that radical elements in each increasingly control the two established parties, I posted the series on the “Future Party.” (It is Available on this site.) I worried this situation would lead to wild policy swings whenever we change presidents. Unfortunately, this has been the case from Obama to Trump. Bolstered by initial control of both houses of Congress, each president pursued policies opposite their immediate predecessor.

One only has to look at our border migrant policies. Trump tightened Obama’s, only to find Biden reversed course on his first day. Trump’s return reversed Biden on his first day. This whiplash is also evident in foreign, domestic, and economic policies.

In the past, people could count on continuity. Businesses could commit to multi-year plans. Friends and allies knew they could count on us instead of watching their backs. If there were problems, we could hash things out before radical change.

That’s all in the past. Where the far ends of each party differ, they are often direct opposites. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party backs its climate change convictions with billions of dollars for windmills, solar, and electric vehicles (EVs), which are anathema to the Republican right. They look to oil and gas to continue to power the world. To that end, they’ve encouraged vast liquefied Gas Terminals. This situation leaves anyone with significant power needs with a damned if you do, damned if you don’t headache.

Now, Donald Trump has escalated this uncertainty. He has reversed Biden’s energy policies and added supply chain anxiety with constantly changing tariff policies.

Businesses can adapt to most things if they know what they’re dealing with. If they can’t, at least they can not go there and avoid the problems entirely. A constantly changing environment leaves them little choice but to stand still until they can see the future more clearly.

We’ve had corrective recessions as long as we’ve had business cycles. But what made the recession that began with the 1929 market crash turn into a decade-long depression? The Roosevelt administration’s ever-changing policies and the trade war brought on by the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs. Amity Schlaye’s fine book on the Depression, “The Forgotten Man,” describes the constant seat-of-the-pants policy changes. Just the changes in the gold policy make your head spin.

The beggar-thy-neighbor tariffs collapsed world trade, hurting everyone. These misbegotten policies resulted in unemployment remaining at 17.4% in January 1938. Only the beginning of World War II changed things. Armed conflict is not the preferred way to end a depression.

Similar to businesses adopting a defensive posture to survive, our friends and neighbors are looking to their viability. Those in commerce hoard capital or find safer places to invest rather than invest in new ventures or expansions that could become a disaster on a presidential whim. At the same time, our former friends look for safety elsewhere. As I suggested in my last post, China comes to mind. Acquiring nuclear weapons is suddenly on the table.

In my time, we called a person who constantly changed their mind and friends a “Flake.” We avoided flakes as untrustworthy. So why isn’t there more blowback? Politicians and like-minded media tend to reinforce their opinions and policies rather than question or persuade others of their validity. With Trump’s 2016 election, this propensity climbed to new heights.

Media giants such as MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times, and the Washinton Post became part of the resistance to Trump rather than retaining journalistic ethics. They’re more attuned to their left-wing social media followers than to the general public. How else can you explain their ready acceptance of the Trump-Russian collusion theme? Hunter Biden’s Laptop is Russian disinformation, and COVID mandates and lockdowns were scientific when data refuting these positions were readily available.

Now, Trump is back in office, and we see the same bubble forming over right-leaning media, led by Fox News and Newsmax. While the latter has always been down the line with Trump, Fox has joined closely following administration talking points and agenda.

We can see this clearly from how it handled last week’s events. The period featured a Presidential address, a rupture in relations with our friends and allies, and the opening shots of a worldwide trade war.

The distinct possibility of another Munich-type capitulation, an international trade crisis, or both has momentous historical implications. Indeed, a thorough discussion of these policies is necessary before things get out of hand.

Instead, virtually every Fox show began with wide-ranging discussions of the Democrats’ bad manners during Trump’s joint session address. The muted nature was evident even when they finally got around to the apparent U.S. flipping sides on the Ukraine war and the effects of the Trump tariffs.

Discourse is mostly between Fox contributors. Given the importance of the issues, one should expect fierce exchanges. Instead, we see restraint from possible critics of Trump’s policies. General Jack Keane, the channel’s chief military consultant, is a good example. In the recent past, he was bullish on Ukraine’s prospects, especially if they received weapons in a timely fashion and were allowed to shoot back in Russia. Now, all he can muster is regret over the Trump-Zelenski public disagreement—quite a switch in a few months.

Though they held similar views in the past, former NATO chief Adm.James Stavridis, appearing on CNN’s Smercondish show this weekend, remains steadfast on Ukraine and NATO’s value to America—a stark contrast.

Being a Fox consultant is lucrative, and it’s hard to ignore airtime, which might play a part in the remuneration. If the consultants are docile, guests with a different take on the issues could add perspective. Former Vice President Pence or runner-up to Trump for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley, might provide a broader view, but not on Fox.

Neil Cavuto, who has been with Fox News since the beginning and is the kind of respected journalist with a business background who should lead a discussion on the detrimental effects of tariffs, is gone. Taking over his time slot is Will Cain, best known for sports on ESPN and for the Trump-fawning Fox and Friends weekend. In addition to this lineup change, Trump’s daughter-in-law and former G.O.P head, Lara Trump, now has her hour. Whatever happened to “Fair and Balanced?”

When we needed information to navigate these perilous times, all we got from both sides were talking points. History will long have forgotten an opposition party’s bad behavior at a speech. However, it will duly note the exact time when America turned its back on its friends and allies and destroyed international systems that increased the world’s well-being.