I’m really curious what the other delusional bits are with all the various “agreements” they’ve come up with. The agreement with Japan includes some investment numbers where Japan has a very different idea about how they work than what Trump has publicly claimed. I suspect that, ultimately, the only real bits of the trade agreements will be the tariffs imposed on US consumers. All the rest will be some degree of bullshit, which means that functionally there are no agreements at all - the only real bits are what Trump can impose domestically.
Well, yes, but in this particular context I’d say it’s not entirely relevant. Trump lacks the most basic grasp on reality, unlike everyone else (it feels a bit overgenerous to say that makes anyone “adults” though). Everyone else realizes, from even a brief interaction with Trump, that he’s delusional, can’t be reasoned with or educated, so all that’s left is to humor him. (Although it might be more accurate to say that they’re ignoring his demands and hoping he goes away.) Even if they didn’t realize that, and tried to educate/reason with him, it wouldn’t work and they’d be in the same place. There’s really nothing else they can do.
ISTM that what you’re saying fits very well with this Guardian essay that Mindy linked to yesterday, except that I think the writer implies that Trump knows what he’s doing (i.e., that he’s not doing it out of stupidity or delusion). Worth a read, if you haven’t read it, or was for me anyway.
…
Deals, whether in finance, real estate, or in any other part of the economy, are just one step in the process of reaching full-fledged, binding agreements subject to the force of law. They are a stage in the negotiation process that has no force until it is finalized as a contract. It is, at best, an agreement to agree, which can turn out to be premature, poorly conceived or unacceptable to one or other party. Put another way, it is an engagement, not a wedding. A deal allows a negotiator like Trump to claim victory and blame the other party or some other contextual variable if things do not work out.
In fact, in the hands of someone like Trump, deals are ways to evade, postpone or subvert the efficient work of markets. Trump does not like markets, precisely because they are impersonal and invisible. Their results – for corporations, entrepreneurs, investors and shareholders – are subject to clear measures of success and failure.
Because deals are personal, adversarial and incomplete, they are perfect grist for Trump’s relentless publicity machine, and allow him to polish his brand, massage his ego and signal his prowess to opponents – without the regulations and measurable consequences of regular market risks. The downside risk for an aborted or interrupted deal is negligible, and the upside is guaranteed by the legal power of fully completed contracts.
Trump has figured out to an exceptional degree that dealmaking does not need to be successful in order to massively increase his wealth. …
I don’t know - the problem seems to be that ignoring him and hoping he goes away is too often exactly the main Democratic response…
Yeah, this is doubly true with the trade agreements. On the one hand, Trump’s understanding of the economics is entirely composed of delusional beliefs, and he’s making delusional demands in trade agreements. On the other hand, all he cares about is the headline of his supposed achievements. He doesn’t care what the actual outcome is of the agreement (he’s got nothing material on the line himself, what does he care that the US gains nothing, or is even hurt?), all that matters is that he’s given credit for an achievement, even if the achievement doesn’t exist in reality.
There’s a problem here in that [Fuckface] could benefit enormously from using both of these lawsuits as a news platform. Accusing Obama of treason would let him constantly keep it in the news, by throwing all sorts of mud. But inversely, being sued for defamation would let him play to his base as being victimized by The Establishment. Certainly all his past legal woes - and there’s quite a list - don’t seem to have harmed him much with his supporters. If anything, they’ve arguably helped him sell himself as a martyr.
