On the plus side, billions of people from around the globe are engaged with the American political process to a degree not seen since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy.

There is also the arguable benefit we are, in the context of the ancient Chinese curse, about to live through some "interesting times".

This is due to the new commander-in-chief's willingness to pick fights - within his own borders and outside of them - his predecessors didn't care to have.

The big question, and one that will likely determine the length of his tenure, is "can he win them?".

Given the significant opposition to the new president - and his more startling views and policies - within Republican ranks, President Trump may encounter even tougher legislative roadblocks than George W. Bush or Barack Obama.

Republican opposition to the president is built on the fear that having effectively hijacked the machinery of the party for his own purposes, Mr Trump may bring it into such disrepute it will be banished to the political wilderness for years to come.

While significantly more autocratic than our own system, the American political process is not without significant checks and balances. There are limits to what can be done by executive order and presidential veto.

Some of the announcements of the past seven days, such as the decision to build the border wall on Mexico's tab, to walk away from the Trans Pacific Partnership and to water down Obamacare, come under the category of what John Howard described as "core promises" and were quite predictable.

The same can be said for Mr Trump's rather ghastly wish to reinstate "water boarding" and other forms of enhanced interrogation as instruments of state policy.

What was not anticipated was the president's decision to join Vladimir Putin and China's Politburo in their acceptance of armed brigandage as a valid principle in international relations. When the leaders of the three superpowers all believe it is okay to kill the citizens of other nations in order to take their property, we are in deep water.

A similar situation existed prior to the outbreak of World War I and that did not turn out well.

President Trump made his views on such theft clear in an interview with America's ABC news's David Muir. He said America should have seized Iraq's oil assets in the wake of its invasion of that country in 2003 and that "maybe we'll have another chance".

In addition to being a clear breach of international law, such views are at odds with those of every American president since Woodrow Wilson (president 1913 to 1921).

It is ironic America originally went to war with Iraq in 1990 under George H.W. Bush to reverse Saddam Hussein's seizure of Kuwait.