I will approach the end of the year with this famous line of Juvenal’s. These are the words of a wealthy woman who has called for the immediate crucifixion of one of her slaves. When asked what is his offense and advised to take time to examine the case, the matron replies: “This is what I want, this is my command, let my will take the place of reason.”

I have not seen this line applied to Trump, but isn’t it a perfect fit? Put the migrants in concentration camps! Build a $5bn wall! To hell with the democracies who were our allies, I want to court Vlady and Erdogan. You can’t make an omelet without giving Vlady his way in Ukraine and Syria, or without allowing the slaughter of a few Kurds to please dear old Erdogan.

Trump’s willfulness is even more apparent in his clashes with the law. I’m not referring to his semi-criminal past, but to the present. Trump does not know and has not troubled himself to find out what the law allows and forbids. When he is caught trying something illegal, he curses the law, curses lawmakers, curses the courts. The entire government is supposed to fall into line behind his “Sic volo.”