- Joined
- Jun 18, 2018
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- 54,351
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- Progressive
Trump’s method of irrational threats and bad-faith negotiating did work, to an extent, in private business. Stiffing contractors and lenders was one of Trump’s signature business maneuvers. It worked because he could always find more people to do business with, and the fame he cultivated through his manipulation of the media — also a legitimate Trump business skill — helped draw in a never-ending supply of suckers. The problem is that the supply of foreign countries is finite. The bad will Trump engenders with his irrational charges and crazy threats alienates partners he will need to deal with again. (How can Mexico or anybody make a trade deal with a man who is willing to unilaterally impose tariffs over completely unrelated policy disagreements?)
And some of those reputational costs linger after Trump has left the scene. Americans may think of Trump as a one-off phenomenon, but people around the world tend to associate the actions of a leader with the nation as a whole. At least some of the resentment and distrust Trump generates will cling to future American presidents and citizens. Of course, Trump doesn’t care in the slightest what happens to future generations of Americans. Trump’s deals are designed with the purpose of creating “wins” that he can tout as evidence of his negotiating prowess. His goal is to extract value for Donald Trump, and he is counting on the fact that nobody will think very hard about who will pay the bill.
Why All of Trump’s Deals Are Bad
There is a an even darker component to this. All democratic societies have plans of succession - where power goes from one leader to another. But it isn't limited to leaders, it can be extended to policy as well. For over a generation, our foreign policy has been guided by principles that have guided our different leaders, whether they be Democrats or Republicans. Once one leader decides that "he alone" has the only legitimate policy to put forth, there is no real room for succession - no agreed upon facts or principles that give the policy continuity and stability. The next leader can follow Trump's example, or redo foreign policy all over again. But Trump's way depends upon him alone. It is the way of totalitarians.