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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump has no idea what he's doing
Trump has no idea what hes doing
By Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-no-idea-what-hes-doing/2019/05/13/a3e6a626-75c0-11e9-bd25-c989555e7766_story.html?utm_source=reddit.com&utm_term=.81be15dcf446
"SNIP....
I know that he can be clever politically, in a tactical sense. I know that his lies are often both deliberate and effective. I know that his utter shamelessness can sometimes come off as some kind of warped genius. But the only thing thats profound about Trump is the truly spectacular depth of his ignorance. As evidence, take a glance if you dare at your 401(k).
The presidents decision last week to unilaterally boost tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports produced an entirely predictable response retaliatory tariffs from Beijing on $60 billion worth of U.S. products, a freakout by the financial markets and a screaming plunge in the Dow and other major indexes.
The administrations trade talks with China had reportedly been going well and were supposed to be nearing an end. Trump accused the Chinese of trying to renege on concessions at the last minute, but the presidents history suggests otherwise. Veterans of the high-stakes world of New York real estate have told me about what they described as Trumps standard negotiating practice pitching some kind of fit at the very last minute, when the other party thought things were settled, in hopes of bullying his way to a better deal.
That might work with a subcontractor who doesnt have the power to say no, or even with a fellow developer who vows on the spot never to do business with Trump again. But would any skilled negotiator think such a stunt would work with China, the worlds second-greatest economic power? Wouldnt the Chinese government have to react in kind, if only as a matter of sovereign pride? And wouldnt startled investors conclude that their fear of a serious trade war the kind with no winners, only losers had been realized?
.....SNIP"
Demovictory9
(32,320 posts)rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)not fooled
(5,791 posts)and the tariffs provide him the opportunity to burn down the economy.
I think he was subconsciously casting about for some way to wreak havoc and now he's stumbled across it.
Gonna be bad.
emmaverybo
(8,144 posts)his own businesses, playing with our national treasure, demonstrates an hubris we can ill afford. As usual, once he wrecks the economy for enough people to feel it, he will be out politically, leaving a Dem administration to clean up the mess.
He never had the skill set, temperament, or minimal qualifications for any aspect of his job description.
Eugene Robinson would better lead the country than this reckless clown.
Mr. Evil
(2,746 posts)I hope they experience flaming, explosive diarrhea for eternity. All that new knowledge to him was nothing more than a bright shiny new object to play with. He has no clue how tariffs work or about their possible consequences and he could care less. It gives him a free pass to look and sound all gruff and tough to his pathetic, dumbfuck base. He is nothing but a total fraud.
Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)just as he did with his contractors, vendors and employees, but he's too cocky to realize he doesn't rule the world, and China isn't going to roll over for him. He can get away with it with his underlings, but now he's antagonizing another world power that doesn't have to cower to him.
The problem now is that he's not only playing with his enterprises and his future, he's playing with ours. We're not (quasi)billionaires. We need that money in our 401(k) accounts, and can't be susceptible to the pettiness and narcissism of our supposed leader interrupting, if not ruining, our finances.
tRump is playing the game; we're paying the penalty.
Kablooie
(18,571 posts)His only reason he does anything is to get cheers from his idiot followers.
crazytown
(7,277 posts)soryang
(3,299 posts)"No one can have any confidence that this administration has thought out a step-by-step plan for anything."
This applies to Korea as well. Three top South Korean foreign policy experts publicly commented (on the one year anniversary of the Panmunjeom Declaration), on the fact that the US never prepared a plan, a roadmap, they say is needed to outline a practical implementation of denuclearization in North Korea with tangible milestones and reciprocal measures to make it work, or at least present a reasonable basis for negotiation of such a plan. Instead the mere mention of a "step by step" process in denuclearization is publicly scoffed at by state department personnel and ignored by experts on VOA and other US media.
In the case of Iran and North Korea, the administration is in the process of feigning a willingness to negotiate while praying for regime change with the resultant chaos and security risks virtually certain to ensue. I recall reading one observer who noted that both Iran and North Korea were within the scope of important Chinese national interests, perhaps for differing reasons, and that both were subject to what is in essence US hybrid warfare in the form of sanctions, diplomatic isolation and propaganda campaigns for the additional purpose essentially of jeopardizing Chinese interests. These approaches are likely to backfire and severely damage the interests of not only our allies but US national interests as well.
AlexSFCA
(6,137 posts)before 2020 election. A huge number of job losses and a recession bigger than in 2008 will obliterate republican party across the country. With democratic majorities in both houses and most state legislatures we can rebuild the country for the future. We can reform SC by dramatic expansion of number of justices. All of this possible if gop led by trump destorys US economy for good. I am willing to suffer for my kids future.
Scorched earth policy. Thats a lot of human suffering as a consequence.
No thanks!!
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,746 posts)losing most of my income and security. That will make my life so terrific.
applegrove
(118,006 posts)tblue37
(64,979 posts)was not destroyed, but rather gained control of the government.
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)Susan Calvin
(1,644 posts)I'm not hoping for it, that's for sure. However, I do expect it . Unfortunately.
Grasswire2
(13,564 posts)manipulating Trump for his own ends...
Martin Eden
(12,801 posts)What Trump does makes more sense in the context of being a Russian asset.
malaise
(267,784 posts)But the only thing thats profound about Trump is the truly spectacular depth of his ignorance.
BobTheSubgenius
(11,535 posts)I don't believe they are necessarily racist, although they certainly can be. Definitely not in the case of an old, old adage like this one, told by themselves, so to speak.
"If a man doesn't prosper, then his son will. If not his son, then his grandson."
Does that sound like a group that would go into negotiations like these - or any negotiations - half-cocked and flighty? I don't believe for a moment they wound "renege at the last minute." They probably had every conceivable contingency planned for, and with Drumpf's history, I'd bet my house that the histrionics are all his.