Donald Trump wants us all to know that he DEFINITELY has the upper hand in this whole trade mess. I mean, well respected economists say Trump’s trade policies harken back to policies undertaken in the 80s, namely with Japan, that grew the trade deficit by like 500% in 10 years, but Trump is totally confident, so we all should be too, right? When he says that every country is every day calling him to deal on trade, we can take that at face value, right? Though it has been pointed out that back in the 80s, when we were playing a similar game with Japan, and things got worse, that Japan largely played ball, unlike say China and Canada, who are definitely not, imposing large tariffs of their own. LISTEN! Clearly everything is under control! I mean, what reason can we possibly have to think that Donald Trump, master deal maker, doesn’t know what he’s doing?
So I’ve been reading articles about trade negotiations with China, and one of their big complaints is consistency. They’re frustrated because Donald Trump doesn’t seem to know what he wants out of a trade deal, and keeps moving the goal post, regardless of how willing they seem to be in dealing. And the more I think about that, the more I can put into context things like Trump declaring that illegal immigrants should be kicked out of the countries, no due process, despite that being unconstitutional to the extreme. Trump is basically a toddler. He has expectations that he’s going to be taken care of in every aspect of his life. If he wants something, like a toddler, he doesn’t take into consideration what it takes to get it, or even if it’s permissible. That doesn’t even cross his mind. He just knows that he wants something, and that the people around him, like a toddler’s understanding of his parents, are there to make that happen. But unlike actual parents, the people around Trump are ACTUALLY there to make his whims happen, which has meant skirting the law and the very foundations of what is allowed.
So North Korea is starting to get skittish about their negotiations for peace and denuclearization, which I think a lot of people probably saw coming. They cancelled their talk with South Korea, and are threatening to kill the summit with Trump over military maneuvers our military has been doing for decades. So yeah, for those of you who thought that things with North Korea seemed to be going a little TOO smoothly, it looks like you were right. But, as a few news articles have noted, there is speculation as to whether North Korea’s sudden skittish behavior regarding denuclearization may dash Trump’s hopes of getting that Nobel Peace Prize that he feels he so richly deserves. And that loss…that would be the true tragedy….
Mind the Exit 