It is the child at the center of attention, and there seems to be no other explanation. This boy is seen holding hands with influential figures and being paraded through rooms that resemble political stages. He comes across as bright and self-assured, yet he remains undeniable as a youngster. One day he fixates on Canada’s chrome tariffs; the next day it is Mexico’s tariffs; the following day, Ukraine’s. Tengui. Falti. He calls out to a parent about wanting the tariff from Greenland, and the idea swirls through conversations and headlines. People joke that Lapland trembles at the thought of the upcoming holidays, as the boy plays with his new toys and toys with big ideas. A nanny gently cautions him about tariffs and their history, reminding him that meddling with them in the past helped impoverish large portions of the world and helped spark a crisis that changed the course of history. Still, the child remains impulsive. A tug of war over trade percentages surfaces: 25 percent on Canadian steel, then a quick pivot to 50 percent. Laughter echoes as the boy revels in his imagined control. The stock market feels unsettled, and economists watch the screens with bated breath. It seems a lifetime has been spent studying these matters, all in the hands of a child who treats grownup concerns as a playground game.
Seeing the child’s entrance into kindergarten is like watching the ruler of a tiny kingdom stride into a room full of listeners. He asks his peers if they saw him on television, a grin wide enough to light up the room. On a Tuesday he oversaw the making of a grand planetary advertisement shot in a space that resembles the White House, portraying a familiar uncle purchasing a sleek car that appears to be a souvenir from the family factory. A friend named Sam hesitates to tell him that a sticker on his Tesla was placed by his mother a few months earlier: a message implying a prelude to a time when Elon’s ideas might have seemed more reasonable than the world’s turn of events. The sticker, a small emblem of the moment, was once available on a popular retailer for a modest price. The details, though simple, feel as if they could shift perceptions in a heartbeat.
The child’s teacher has taken leave because anxiety has taken hold, and it is the fifth instructor to depart under the strange new conditions. The principal has reached out to the Education Department, yet all her connections have been severed by the new administration. A brave caregiver has offered to provide private tutoring to the family, stepping forward to be a personal guide through the basics of history, geography, and economics, with the understanding that the child is steering the course. The father was taken aback by the turn of events, and he asked himself what purpose any of this might serve. The principal responded with a nervous, almost frantic laugh that spread through the room, a sound that seemed to echo through the corridors and into the offices of leaders, businesspeople, workers, retirees, and students alike. The humor, restrained and uneasy, carried a note of unease well beyond the moment, a reminder that a single child can ripple through the fabric of an entire society, for better or for worse.