Friday, October 13, 2017

Trump's Let's-Make-a-Deal Gambits Are a Recipe for Catastrophe -- and Losing

"If I destroy it, they will deal" is Donald Trump's idea of the art of politics. Because of his erratic, wanton behavior, no one wants to deal. Why? You can't trust him to be honest, fair, or even aware of what he's doing.

With Trump, there's nothing behind the doors except baloney.

All of Donald Trump's early dealing has led to an utter failure of an administration, he knows it, and he's bursting with rage. Now, to assert himself, he's lashing out, destroying the establishment, most of what Obama accomplished, and denigrating both allies and enemies.Why? He thinks he'll make people "deal" and then he'll get the credit he deserves. The gambit is brain-dead, and the Republican Party knows it.
  1. He wants to decertify the Iran deal, because of non-compliance, to force our European allies and Iran to the table. (Psst, Iran is complying with the deal.) Our allies won't budge, driving a wedge between the U.S. and the world. He will toss the deal to a GOP-dominated Congress, who'll likely support the deal. Winner? Not Trump, but the U.S. may squeak by, while our allies again think WTF? If Congress agrees with Trump's decertification and reinstitutes sanctions, Iran bolts from the deal and goes back to building a bomb. Yay, more bombs and now two adversaries spitting in our eye.
  2. Trump is blowing up Obamacare with his incessant executive orders. Result? He and the GOP now own the American healthcare system, which is in danger of falling apart because of the fix Trump has put it in. Result? With a gun to its head, the GOP will likely have less bargaining power with the Dems, leading to an Alexander/Murray bill to save Obamacare that will be far from what the Repubs had hoped for. Expect Trump to call it a win just to be a "winner." And yet, if the GOP leaders don't allow a vote, the GOP establishment will partly own Trump's mess.
  3. On DACA, he's reneged on a deal with "Chuck and Nancy," thus alienating the Dems from dealing with him. What will or can he do? Nothing. He's in a corner and has already hinted that he'll extend DACA when it expires March 5th because, well, no one will deal.
  4. He alternately insults and praises the Puerto Ricans, claiming that the feds can't stay in Puerto Rico "forever." Result? He looks like an asshole who this morning in a tweet said, "The wonderful people of Puerto Rico, with their unmatched spirit, know how bad things were before the H's. I will always be with them!" See? He insults them with "how bad things were before" and praises them as "The wonderful people of Puerto Rico." Why believe anything he says?
  5. Almost forgot NAFTA. He is "dealing" so hard with Mexico and Canada that he'll likely find no agreement. Result? In a fit of pique he'll ditch the whole deal, which has ramifications for the whole world.
  6. Almost forgot North Korea. He keeps calling Kim Jong Un "Little Rocket Man" (as opposed to "Liddle Bob Corker") and Kim keeps calling his bluff. The Art of the Deal, my ass. (My ass, all our asses.)
No one believes anything he says, unless it's his base. And, when he has to say "never mind!" to all his misdealing, he'll look like a patsy, which will throw him into a rage, which will lead to? Sen. Bob Corker thinks World War III. What if he's right? Holy crap.


No comments:

Post a Comment