Le Monde, which had hitherto reserved the term ‘imperialist’ exclusively for Russia’s foreign policy, has revived the language of the 1970s to lambast ‘the United States’ new imperialism’ (22 January). On air with Breton, LCI presenter Darius Rochebin, who is usually dutifully in step with the Pentagon, became exercised too, even sounding a bit like Che Guevara. This sense of disorientation, reminiscent of the febrile elite backlash against ‘the masters of finance’ in 2008-09 after the subprime crisis, is a sign of commentators’ panic when faced with Donald Trump’s distinctly undiplomatic initiatives. One approach is to take the US administration’s statements and publications seriously. Defending the operation in Caracas, homeland security adviser Stephen Miller said, ‘We live in a world, in the real world … that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power.’ Consequently, the US is entitled to ‘[use] its (…)