Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

May 17

The Washington Post on Trump’s promises of tax cuts and deregulation

Even after all the alarming antics former president Donald Trump has engaged in over the past decade, it was jarring to learn what he said to about two dozen oil company executives at an April 11 dinner in his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion, Mar-a-Lago. As The Post reported, Mr. Trump responded to one executive’s complaint about the burdensome regulations the industry faces under PresidentBiden, despite spending $400 million on lobbying against them. He told them they should instead donate $1 billion to his presidential election campaign, in return for which they would get lighter regulation and lower taxes — a much better “deal.” To be sure, it’s impossible to know whether this was a serious quid pro quo or just another case of the former president’s off-the-cuff bombast. Perhaps we’ll learn more if an inquiry by House Democrats gains traction….