Trump gave a talk to American troops in Japan this morning, wearing a bomber jacket. Sure, Bone Spurs, that’s all it takes to look Military. His words at many points did not match his actions.

“No one — no dictator, no regime and no nation — should underestimate, ever, American resolve,” Mr. Trump said, having shed his suit jacket for a leather bomber jacket as he addressed hundreds of fatigues-clad women and men. “You are the greatest threat to tyrants and dictators who seek to prey on the innocent.”

But he is a tyrant and dictator. He bullies and lies to the press, he’s working to suppress voting, he demands loyalty to himself from people who are supposed to be serving the country, he uses his office to enrich himself, he hires relatives, he attacks judges and the justice system in general – he does what tyrants and dictators do.

He also preys on the innocent whenever it suits his purpose.

The president used his speech on Sunday to call for building a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region, a new approach to Asia that is likely to be seen by China as a challenge. The idea, first proposed by the Japanese and adopted in recent days by Mr. Tillerson, envisions the United States strengthening ties with three other democracies in the region — Japan, Australia and India — to contain a rising China.

But he is an enemy of democracy. He battles it and resists it and attacks it every day of his life.

Mr. Trump also makes the trip hobbled by new questions about the Russia investigation back in Washington, sharpened in recent days by revelations that his aides sought to arrange meetings between him and Mr. Putin during the campaign. In contrast, Mr. Abe and Mr. Xi are newly empowered, with their countries handing them sweeping mandates.

Mr. Trump denied being at a disadvantage when reporters noted on Sunday that Mr. Xi was in a particularly powerful position.

“Excuse me, so am I,” Mr. Trump said, citing stock market gains and low unemployment in the United States, and asserting that “ISIS is virtually defeated in the Middle East.”

“We are coming off some of the strongest numbers we’ve ever had, and he knows that and he respects that,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Xi. “We’re going in with tremendous strength.”

Well, except for the poll numbers, which are record-breakingly low. Excuse me, his “tremendous strength” is illusory.