Trump Does Not Understand the Art of the Deal

I've never read Trump's much bragged about book, The Art of the Deal. I don't know if he wrote it. Maybe it was ghost written. Maybe not. What is clear is that he doesn't understand its topic: How to make a deal. 

If by deal Trump means negotiation, then deal-making is the opposite of war. In a deal, all parties negotiate respectfully and in good faith, seeking a resolution that satisfies all. Even if your opponent is a monster, you feign respect, so as to allow him to save face at home should he agree to your terms.

But Trump bullies everyone, good guys and bad. Consider last year's bullying of Denmark as he tried to steal Greenland. Although both Denmark and Greenland insisted that Greenland was not for sale, Trump kept darkly hinting that he was going to get a "deal" for Greenland whether Greenland liked it or not.

That's not deal-making. That's Don Corleone style thuggery. You don't seek a resolution in which both parties walk away satisfied. You make them an offer they can't refuse. They either agree or you send them a severed horse's head. Or bomb their civilization into extinction.

Trump's crude attitude is understandable. He comes from the world of New York real estate. He knows how to work the system. How to make government connections, tax breaks, lawsuits, and bankruptcy laws work for him. How to promise the moon, and if you fail to deliver, walk away, explain away, declare victory and expect everyone to agree, or at least forget.

It's not that past presidents, Democratic and Republican, haven't engaged in bullying and thuggery. They have. Nor that other nations don't also practice bullying and thuggery. But I've not in my lifetime seen an American president so brazen about it. No fig leafs, no diplomatic niceties, no pretty words, no feigned politeness or respect. 

Trump doesn't only grab at what he wants. He wants to rub his opponent’s face in the dirt for all to see. 

It's like his renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America (which I don't think will stick). A wiser president would politely negotiate with Mexico on trade and immigration. Perhaps just as firmly, but in a manner that would allow Mexico to accede to U.S. demands while saving face. But instead, Trump needlessly humiliates Mexico, making it all the harder for Mexican politicians to agree to his demands.

Sometimes thuggery backfires. Trump not only failed to steal Greenland, but he angered all of our NATO allies. This is likely part of the reason they're reluctant to join Trump's war on Iran.

Trump knows very little about the "art of the deal."

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