There were no Situation Room meetings and no quiet calls to de-escalate a dispute with an ally. Just threats, counterthreats, surrender and an indication of the president’s approach to Greenland and Panama.

American consumers narrowly escaped dramatic increases in the cost of their morning coffee and Valentine’s Day flowers after President Donald Trump on Sunday announced, then quickly rescinded, a 25% tariff on all imports from Colombia — with plans for a whopping 50% tariff to be imposed one week later.