“Deals are my art form. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.”
-- Donald Trump
No modern president has sold himself on the promise of his negotiating skills than Donald Trump. In “his” book, The Art of the Deal, his TV show, on the campaign trail, or to anyone within earshot, he has boasted about being the consummate deal-maker. On the campaign trail, he unabashedly promoted himself as a deal-maker nonpareil who could always get the best deal in any situation. Applying the skill he learned in the business world to the world of politics, he would be a master policy-maker and diplomat,. Unlike other humans—or presidents before him—deals would be easy, clean and quick, and they would exceed all expectations. As he put it, he would make “beautiful deals that no other president could make.”
Well, how have things worked out so far for the consummate deal-maker?
As with much in his delusional presidency, Trumps deal making has been an exercise in futility, particularly on matters that require collaboration with Congress, states, or with foreign allies and adversaries. He has achieved no deal on health care, climate change, gun control, spending cuts, NAFTA, China or Pacific trade. There’s been no deal on Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan, and no progress on Middle East peace. His promise to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a pure fantasy. A deal with North Korea is still on hold. On June 22nd he threw in the towel on immigration legislation, saying that Republicans should wait until after the fall mid-term elections and try again. So much for Dreamers and DACA recipients.
Even deals that should be easy, like a Group of 7 summit boilerplate agreement of principals, has eluded his grasp. Angered by Canadian President Justin Trudeau, he refused to sign the carefully negotiated communique that his own team had agreed to. This month he predicted that “we’ll probably very easily make a deal” with Mexico and Canada to overhaul NAFTA, but, as is his pattern, later made blistering attacks on both countries when they didn’t cave in to his demands. He pulled out of the Paris climate accord, the TPP, and the Iran nuclear deal, with lofty promises he would negotiate better deals. We're still waiting. You get the message.
Even actual deals he’s taken credit for—his so-called “wins,” like the tax cutting package that passed late last year, was negotiated mainly by Republican lawmakers, who admitted that the president did not seem interested in its details. The same can be said about efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act.
Then there’s the alleged “deals” he makes in private, like with Kim Jong-un. His claim of achieving a denuclearization deal proved grossly premature, at best. And, his boasting that North Korea agreed to return American war dead, “including the immediate repatriation of those already identified,” has proven not so “immediate.” It now appears this could take years. Oh yes, he agreed to end military exercises off the Korean coast, without consulting with South Korea, or getting any concessions from the Rocket Man turned “good guy.” Some deal!
Foreign trade is one area where Trump’s alleged deal-making business prowess is supposed to be best suited. It’s proving to be anything but. Trump has approached trade policy as if it were a real estate deal, where your goal is your opponent's unconditional surrender. This is hardly an appropriate formula for deal-making between nations that must answer to diverse constituents.
Trump’s headstrong approach is unprecedented, unwelcomed, and clearly inappropriate. Citing a wrong, he mostly conjures up in his mind, Trump viciously attacks trade partners. His imposition of aluminum and steel tariffs, aimed at putting pressure on evildoer traders, are supposed to win unilateral concessions. After all, who would dare confront the reality of US economic power? Confident that the US has the upper hand, the Trump team appears oblivious to the possibility that offended nations might retaliate. When Canada, the EU, and China announced retaliatory tariffs, and began to find new trading partners, did Trump reconsider his unilateral moves? Of course not, that’s not in the Trumpster’s makeup. Instead he prefers doubling down: more tariffs. The prospect of a full-bore trade war, that could break down the global trading system, doesn’t seem to register with The Donald or most of his loyal supporters, although many farmers and small businessmen have registered concerns, as have some large companies like General Motors.
Confident of the supremacy of American power—be it economic, political or military—Trump appears to believe he will prevail in the end. This leads him to make expansive demands and exert maximum pressure before any summit or negotiating process takes place. “China, you will reduce your trade surplus, or else.” “NATO countries, you will pay more for your defense, or we’ll abandon the alliance.” “Mexico, you will pay for a wall.” Perhaps such tactics worked in business (though many businessmen with whom he has dealt with would beg to disagree), but they are grossly inappropriate in the world of politics, policy, and diplomacy.
When it’s time to talk deal, Trump arrives unprepared and proceeds to try to bully his adversaries. He never really negotiates; compromise is considered a sign of weakness. Trump is quick to insult those with whom he disagrees (usually in a later statement or tweet, not face-to-face). The self-styled, one-on-one player, he shuns collaborative efforts. His dedication to put “America first—or, more accurately, Trump first—has isolated our country from even our best friends and allies.
As president, Trump has shown himself to be totally unconcerned about the substance, or consequences, of any “deal.” In business, he was driven by a single-minded pursuit of profit. In his deal making as president, he doesn’t seem to have a strategic plan leading to a desired outcome. He wants—and expects—his opponents to capitulate to his demands. When they don’t, as is typically the case in the world of politics, rather than returning to the negotiating table, Trump prefers to hold fast then spin the disappointing outcome as something that will greatly benefit America in the long run.
Failed deals are never his fault. They’re always someone else’s: evil foreigners, Democrats, Obama, the Clintons, the Republican leadership, anyone but Donald Trump. Failed deals are misrepresented as victories. He put a positive spin on stalled trade talks. “Every country is calling every day, saying, ‘let’s make a deal. It’s going to all workout,” he told Fox News. He is notorious for outright lying, as when he falsely claimed that the head of US Steel called to say he was opening six new facilities. Vague agreements in principle are portrayed as unprecedented accomplishments: “no other president could have done what I did.” On North Korea, he boasted that under any other president, we would have gone to war. He mused he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize.
When Trump takes a unilateral action, his preferred action since he doesn’t have to deal with anybody, he appears oblivious to possible negative consequences that may result. He imposes tariffs to reduce American trade deficits and seems in denial about a possible trade war this might instigate. On immigration, his “zero-tolerance” edict sought to solve the problem by simply cutting off the flow of refugees and asylum seekers. He didn’t appear to give any though to the possible humanitarian disaster this might lead to, nor to mention its gross violation of American and international due process laws—or, probably more likely, he just didn’t care (empathy is not his thing). He pulls out of the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal, threatens to pull out of the WTO, and distances the U.S. from NATO with apparently no regard about where these actions might lead.
All this should not be a surprise, at least to those familiar with Trump’s pre-presidency business deal making. Tony Schwartz, Trump’s ghostwriter for The Art of the Deal, now feels deep remorse for creating the myth of Trump the unparalleled deal-maker. “I put lipstick on a pig,” he says.
In the 18-months he spent following Trump around, Schwartz says he came to see Trump as pathologically impulsive and self-centered. He told Jane Mayer that Trump’s most essential characteristic was that “he has no attention span.” “It’s impossible to keep him focused on any topic, other than his own self-aggrandizement, for more than a few minutes ….” Schwartz believes that Trump’s short attention span and inability to concentrate left him with “a stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance,” hardly, he observes, what one would want in a president of the most important country in the world.
Schwartz also noted Trump’s propensity to misrepresent facts. “Lying is second nature to him. More than anyone else I’ve ever met, Trump can convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true.” He has a “complete lack of conscience” about lying.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Schwartz warned that “if Trump is elected President, the millions of people who voted for him and believe that he represents their interests will learn what everyone who deals closely with him already knows—that he couldn’t care less about them.” Sadly, many voters didn’t listen to this warning. Many still don’t.
Asked by Mayer what he would call the book today if he were writing it, Schwartz responded, “The Sociopath.”
While 18-months in office may not be enough to fairly draw conclusions about his deal-making prowess, it seems to me that prospects for his “deal-making” to ultimately work out in ways best for America are not promising. Worse yet, his abandonment of decades of political and diplomatic precedent, his tirades and personal insults, lying, deceiving, backstabbing, false promises and policy reversals, and his aversion to compromise will not only produce few meaningful deals, but will isolate the United States from the wider world.
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| Trump Denies Russian Meddling |
More worrisome, perhaps, are secret “deals” he makes behind closed doors when even his closest advisers are absent. Rumors are circulating about what he might have agreed to in Helsinki. Top military officials apparently don’t even know. Trump likes to be the only player in the room. That way he can present his version of what occurred. This is a recipe for disaster. It's not the way democracies work.
With President Trump as our deal-maker--or should I say deal-breaker--we're in for a very stormy future.
It has been patently clear from the outset of this farcical presidency that Trump was running for one reason only. To fatten his coffers and those of his family. Of course one can question whether he had any coffers, as we have never seen his tax returns.
ReplyDeleteIt is an insult for him to say that he was going to negotiate a better deal with NAFTA etc. The so called leader of the free world doesn’t negotiate a “deal”. That is what a car salesman does.
He, or she usually uses diplomacy -be it gentle or firm, and is guided by well informed advisors. Not the Donald. He blunders into the G7, NAFTA,Britain and Helsinki insulting everyone in his path bar Putin.
North Korea and Russia can’t believe their good fortune in having such an ill-informed dolt to deal with.
As he pursues this isolationist policy of America first with his trade war, China in particular must be licking their chops. It soon will be America last!
The so called deals he has made haven’t come to fruition but whas has, is that the Trump brand has expanded exponentially, not America’s.