Why Trump is dumping trade deals down the toilet.

[Saviolo]

Someone on my Twitter feed put it very eloquently today. Here's a link to the first tweet in the thread (not mine):

Link to tweet

And here's the text of the thread:

Believe it or not, Trump's insane proclamation that he will keep tariffs in place until there are no more Mercedes on Fifth Avenue gave me a moment of clarity.

I think I finally understand Trump's economic philosophy now. And we are absolutely screwed.

The one thing that you need to understand about Trump is that he is, at his core, a con man with no empathy.

Therefore, he assumes that all other people are also con men with no empathy, and every exchange of goods and services that exists in the world is, on some level, a con.

Trump assumes every transaction in the world — between people, businesses, nation-states, even between two different agencies of the same government — has a winner and a loser, a scammer and a sucker. He believes if you're not ripping someone off, you're getting ripped off.

From an economist's perspective, this is complete nonsense. Unless there are major information asymmetries or distortions of market power, and often even then, most transactions are generally to the mutual benefit of both parties.
Otherwise no deals would ever get made.

But Trump — the man who created a fake university, made stiffed contractors, hired the mob, and filed for bankruptcy six times — cannot believe his.

So he goes out of his way to cherrypick how he sees the world, so that everything we do looks like either a ripoff or a steal.

It's not simply that Trump *doesn't* think the Paris Climate Agreement, Iran nuclear deal, TPP, NAFTA, or luxury cars from Germany are a good deal for America. It's that he *can't* think that.

It's an alien concept to him that a deal other people want with us could also help us.

To Trump's mind, the mere fact other countries sought out these deals with us, and that their own economies benefit, is unassailable proof we got ripped off.

He can't see the evidence they helped us too. His mind will only cherry-pick potential ways it could be bad for us.

This is why Trump will never, ever, be able to negotiate with the rest of the world. He doesn't believe in mutual benefit.

The second anyone tells him "this is your end of the deal" he'll rip it up. He believes only one party can have an end of the deal, and it shouldn't be him.

So folks, I hate to tell you this, but he's only getting started.

He will forego billions, maybe trillions, of dollars in world trade. He will forego bilateral security agreements. And if he ever gets something from another nation it will be by force.

As I said: we're screwed.

And we're not just screwed on foreign policy, but domestic. This explains his behavior over DACA, spiking two bipartisan deals even though they were what he asked for.

He assumed if Democrats were willing to talk, his deal wasn't ripping them off, ergo it would rip him off.

That implies if Democrats win Congress, we are going to enter an all-out legislative standstill like we've never before seen.

Our system is entirely reliant on compromise and compromise isn't compatible with Trump's beliefs. We will struggle to pass even basic reauthorizations.

So yeah: our nightmare is not going to end until we get this pathological con man out of office.

He is not just bad at being president, he has a defective way of seeing the world that is not compatible with being president.

And we will pay for it.

[pangaia]

1. Quite educational. Thanks.. I think....

Now I am even more scared...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Thank you for your clarity, my dear Saviolo.

I think you're onto something here, and it makes sense to me.

HE MUST GO AND THE SOONER THE BETTER.

[Goodheart]

3. Great post. Thanks.

[RainCaster]

4. The art of distraction

Keeps us from thinking about all his crooked shit

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. As we all know, our "president" is a severely damaged human being. Consider that for a moment.

Now consider how many people (and politicians!) are firmly behind him.

Some scary shit, that.

[madaboutharry]

6. Liars and con artists think everyone

is just like them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. This makes a lot of sense. For Trump everything is a zero-sum game,

and every transaction is something to be won or lost entirely, not an arrangement where everyone gets something they want. Trump isn't happy unless he's crushed his adversary, and everyone is an adversary. He's a very disturbed, dangerous person.

[smirkymonkey]

8. Spot on!

[Hugin]

9. I disagree... I think he's trying to extort money from these other countries to enrich himself.

Look at China as an example... The tariff threats go up and then disappear when they buy off Trump personally by giving him or his family something of value.

He is corruption personified.

[Duppers]

20. You might just have something there.

A pay for play.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

21. The two don't need to be mutually exclusive, Hugin.

[C_U_L8R]

10. Zero sum Trump

Emphasis on the zero.

[world wide wally]

11. Excellent analysis of Spakey's philosophy

[LiberalLovinLug]

12. Yeah, that would explain Trudeau's latest perplexed confusion

Declaring Canada as a "security risk" in order to justify his steel tariffs, even though we stood side by side on the battle field from WW2 all the way into Afghanistan after 9/11. Even though our steel is crucial in making parts for your MIC.

And more baffling, even though the U.S. already enjoys a $2 billion surplus in steel trade with Canada. Not the Trump lie that says the opposite.

I don't think any new NAFTA will happen because you are right, he won't sign any deal that mutually benefits both countries. And especially not the "rapists" in Mexico.

[blake2012]

13. Because it'sgood For Russia and he works for Russia

[anneboleyn]

46. EXACTLY. Including the NK "summit." Trump is doing Putin's bidding.

[Pepsidog]

14. I like your theory, he acts on instinct and paranoid delusions. You bet we are screwed.

[cos dem]

15. This approach will eventually tank the economy.

I'm sure plenty of people will stay aboard Trump Titanic till the bitter end. But, if Repubs are pressured both by massive losses in Nov (GOTV!), and by a ruined economy, maybe, just maybe, that will be enough???

[NoMoreRepugs]

16. The goobers n gomers will stay with him

no matter how bad it gets.... they don't have the capacity to understand what's going on. Their thoughts and opinions come from Faux n Rushbo.

[woodsprite]

28. Also, all the Trumpers I know are the same wy

They believe if they’re not ripping the other party off or not “winning”, than they’re being ripped off.

[SunSeeker]

17. K & R

[pnwmom]

18. Absolutely, yes. Chapman nailed it. And it's all because of Trump's narcissism.

He cannot see the world in any other way -- the world, in his mind, just mirrors him.

[BigOleDummy]

19. Damn!

That was good!

[SunSeeker]

22. Is this article a Trojan horse? Its innards contain a Republican talking point.

Specifically:

That implies if Democrats win Congress, we are going to enter an all-out legislative standstill like we've never before seen. 

So? The author says that like it's a bad thing. We want Democrats to win Congress exactly for this reason: to block Trump's dangerous flailing in office. We absolutely do want standstill in the Trump Administration. Which of Trump's policies do we want to move forward? Any of them? We don't want any of them to move forward! So why is electing Democrats and creating a dam to protect our country against this traitorous cretin spoken like it is a bad thing??

Of course ultimately we need to either indict, impeach or vote him out of office in 2020. But in the meantime, in 2018, it must be all hands on deck to elect as many Dems as possible to flip at least one house of Congress so they can PROTECT OUR COUNTRY FROM TRUMP!

[tblue37]

37. Dems in control of the House equals investigative and subpoena power. nt

[SunSeeker]

39. Exactly. nt

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

23. I'm waiting for Trump to call the Constitution a rotten deal that needs be torn up.

After all, he didn't negotiate it. It's got to be thrown out in its entirety and he -- and only he -- will make the country in his own image.

Oh, wait. He's already doing that, isn't he?

[redstateblues]

52. He's already trashed the 1st Amenment

[Westcoast52]

24. It's Worse Than You Think

Great job describing one aspect of a cosmic blight on humanity. If he was just a grifter in over his head, with no brains/sense/empathy, etc., that would be one kind of problem. To inspire revulsion and dread among nations and peoples requires special skills. Ultimately, he does what is most destructive because he wants to bring it all down while seeking applause. His daily corruption in business is just him on auto-pilot; instinctive self-aggrandizement signifying nothing. The bullying, posturing, whining, etc., points to a gigantic infantile ego that has never been corralled or taught limits. How he escapes consequences requires a kind of sorcerer's spell over all who enable him. He is a demented wind-bag edging toward Nero/Caligula land. Mike Pence and the Republican party stand paralyzed the worse he becomes. One minute it's 'Fire and Fury; for North Korea, the next minute it's expecting a Nobel Peace Prize for who knows what, agreeing to a hamburger stand in Pyongyang? Many world leaders like Macron of France know how to butter him up, but the 'zero sum game'/wreck it all because I can' thing kicks in and, wait, here's some tariffs and a bill for defending NATO. In a genuine world crisis, his lunacy may provoke dire pre-emptive consequences. Will the Pentagon humor this beast? We shall see.

[no_hypocrisy]

25. Trump is a nihilist and a deconstructionnist.

[sellitman]

26. I hate to tell you this but....

The GOP has been this way since President Obama was Inaugurated.

It's been their way or the highway.

Trump is their wet dream.

Stop blaming the madman.

Blame those who allow him to rule.

[pecosbob]

55. More like since Reagen was elected...

They've had no principles, ehtics or morals for the last forty years. Oliver North's return to the public eye puts an exclamation point on this.

[OneGrassRoot]

27. This also describes Trump supporters...

Their feeling that most people abuse the system: "welfare queens," voter fraud BS, etc.

I've felt for a long time that they believe the worst in people because this is precisely what they would do if given the opportunity! And, I know quite a few who do abuse the social safety net while they simultaneously decry freeloaders, etc.

The way Trump is described here is a reflection of his supporters, too. Those supporters who aren't wealthy see absolutely no problem exploiting others to become wealthy; they seem to miss the point that they themselves have been exploited their entire lives and likely will be for the remainder, unless they hit the lottery.

Pretty vile bunch of humans.

[OMGWTF]

40. I recently heard the former chair of the Washington state Republican party on the radio

who he said he was a Republican because "he doesn't trust human nature" and that "people need to be controlled." So much for small government.

[heaven05]

29. true

great analysis of the depraved-in-chief person posing as potus.

[bronxiteforever]

30. Brilliant points. Kick and recommend

[ms liberty]

31. K&R. This is good. And add the profit motive mentioned upthread. n/t

[TryLogic]

32. Bingo! Hits the nail on the head.

[malthaussen]

33. Sounds good to me.

Quite a lot of that zero-sum thinking going around, sad to say.

-- Mal

[humbled_opinion]

34. None of this is happening in a Vacuum.

The only hope we have is Mueller and taking back the House at least that will stall this insanity until 2020.

[KT2000]

35. the ex-ambassador to Panama

met with trump and was asked - what do we get from them. Amb. Feely listed the benefits of the relationship and nothing registered except his question as to whether or not the trump hotel was still the tallest building there. Trump went on to destroy the good will that had been painstakingly built up over the years.

This essay gets to the point.

[politicaljunkie41910]

36. The sad part is that he still doesn't have his facts straight. We don't have a trade deficit with

Canada. We have a surplus. He made that statement about a month ago and the State Dept confirmed that he didn't understand what the Trade deficit/surplus was comprised of and he hadn't included labor costs, which is a part of the equation. Never one to admit a mistake, he seemed to stop talking about it when everyone was pointing out that he was wrong. But now he's back. His ignorance is the biggest threat to our nation.

[maddiemom]

38. Interesting, and very plausible take on the monster.

He is the farthest thing from a normal human being, even one who is fairly flawed.

[LudwigPastorius]

41. Mr. Chapman gives Trump too much credit.

Trump's not evaluating deals based on whether America is on the winning or losing side.

It is much simpler than that: a deal is bad if HE didn't have a hand in it

Everything...every single national policy decision...is driven by whether it makes him look (in his mind) smart or powerful.

The decisions driving the direction of the country right now are attempts to fill the empty, sucking hole of terrified ego that is at the center of Donald Trump.

[OnDoutside]

42. Trump owes Hundreds of millions to Deutsche Bank....what if Deutsche Bank were to put the

squeeze on Trump Inc (with a push from Merkel) ? Screwing with German businesses is bad news for Deutsche Bank.

[IronLionZion]

43. Normal people will suffer badly for his mistakes

[orangecrush]

44. Holy shit!

This is what I was feeling in my gut, put into words with skill and deep understanding.

That said, if it hasn't already, the danger of this situation should sink in after reading this.

[gilligan]

45. Basically

If _____ Did not make the " DEAL " it's no good.
At least in his empty mind.

[malaise]

47. Listen clearly

Don the Con is fucking crazy - he has to be removed from office

[Scurrilous]

48. K&R

[pecosbob]

49. I must disagree to a certain extent (sort of)

Last edited Sat Jun 2, 2018, 07:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Gump only knows how to negotiate from a position of overwhelming strength. The only negotiating tools he knows how to use are threats and intimidation. He first takes something away and then offers to bestow it once again as long as certain new considerations are made...in other words 'I want everything my way, and if you get in my way I'll destroy your life, harass your family, burn your house down and then kill your dog.'

[Saviolo]

50. I don't feel like that's really disagreeing with this.

What you're laying out is more or less adjacent to what this tweeter is saying. I feel like you're on the same page in a different font

[orangecrush]

51. K&R!

[muntrv]

53. Would this explain why Trump International is a privately held company?

[Arazi]

54. Nah, he's #PutinsPuppet. A traitor. You can try to rationalize his destruction otherwise

And all of that might be true but bottom line, he's here to destroy us while enriching the #TrumpCrimeFamily for eternity

[bucolic_frolic]

56. We are witnessing the beginning of anti-civilization

any concept of the public good is going, replaced with not even the sum of self-interests but the self-interest of the powerful. Everything is being stood on its head.

[liberalla]

57. This post was insightful in my attempt to understand and make sense of how he thinks...

We know he's sick, and not in the good way. Truly damaged and defective. What a mess we are in...
Thanks for posting.

[Quixote1818]

58. K and R

[CousinIT]

59. Part of his malignant narcissist (sociopath) disorder, according to psychiatrists

https://www.salon.com/2017/09/12/harvard-psychiatrist-lance-dodes-donald-trump-is-a-sociopath-and-a-very-sick-individual/

Sociopathy itself is a sign of a very sick individual, someone with a lying, cheating and emotional disorder. The intersection of those two occurs in sociopathy. It is not just bad behavior that people have to lie and cheat the way he does, it is an incapacity to treat other people as full human beings. That is why his focus is on humiliating others to aggrandize himself, as he did in the Republican primaries when he was debating and calling people names. The same thing applies to Hispanic immigrants and separating the children from their parents. That is a very, very serious mental and emotional problem. Normal people have normal empathy. It is part of being a human being. Lying and cheating and humiliating others and grinding them into dust in order to triumph is not just bad behavior. It is a serious mental illness.

. . .

The best diagnosis for Trump is that he is a malignant narcissist. It contains the narcissistic part, which is no big deal alone -- lots of people are narcissistic -- but the malignant part is the sociopathy dimension. These terms suggest that Trump is a very primitive man. He is also a man who has a fundamental, deep psychological defect. It is expressed in his inability to empathize with others and his lack of genuine loyalty to anyone. You will notice that Trump wants everyone to be loyal to him, but he is loyal to nobody.

It is a one-way street. Trump appears to have no sense of social obligation or reciprocity.

Yeah, that is right. He has no sense of that because it is all about him. That is narcissistic, but it is much worse than the ordinary person with narcissistic personality. You know, I have known lots of people like that, and none of them are as evil or dangerous as Donald Trump because they do not have the sociopathy part. They may be oriented towards themselves, they may be self-centered, they may care mostly about themselves. But when it comes right down to it, they have some compassion; they have a conscience. But not Donald Trump. That is the malignant part. So yes, you want to say he is narcissistic personality, yes. Malignant narcissism? Yes. Sociopathy? Yes. Antisocial personality? Yes. Paranoia? Absolutely. He is quite paranoid, but again, if you look at it from underneath, it all fits together.

Why is he paranoid? He’s paranoid because . . . he needs to defend himself, his self-esteem, by saying that other people are bad. “You are the bad guy, not me. You are the one attacking me, I have no wish to attack.” He is extremely paranoid, and it edges into delusion. He does not really know what the truth is, at least at those moments. All these descriptive labels are true. If you put them all together, you have got a picture of Donald Trump.