The political and financial worlds were baffled by President Trump’s decision, just hours after being released from the hospital, to suspend coronavirus stimulus bill negotiations “until after the election.”
Leaving aside the stupidity of massive new borrowing and spending on top of the past year’s multi-trillions, walking away from those talks seemed like a really bad political move.
But then, in almost the same breath, Trump turns around and demands a huge bailout for the airlines and a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks for individuals. Had he joined Biden in the drift toward senility? Or was there some method to the apparent madness?
With a little hindsight, it’s clear that this was one of his “Art of the Deal” tactics, albeit in compressed form. You walk away from stalled talks, get in your car and drive off, leaving the other side stunned and, hopefully, softened up for compromise. Then you restart negotiations with each side a little more flexible, and — in this case the crucial second part of the strategy — the deal broken up into bite-sized, and thus more easily doable, parts.
Huh. It appears to be working. Mnuchin and Pelosi are making hopeful sounds and the stock market – addicted as it is to ever-easier money – is now happily anticipating an extended high.
Gold, meanwhile, has concluded that the now-imminent debt binge will indeed crush the dollar, sending capital pouring into safe havens.
But the politics of this strategy are even more interesting than the finance. The big conflict here is the Democrats’ burning desire to bail out their party’s governors and mayors colliding with Trump’s aversion to rewarding those officials’ horrendous mismanagement (and refusal to vote Republican). Remember, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and their peers were looking at pension crises (i.e., functional bankruptcy) before the pandemic hit.
The strategy of breaking the stimulus bill up into pieces puts the Dems in a tough spot, having to oppose saving big, crucial industries and giving money directly to voters in order to protect bail-outs for Dem-run states. This is not a good place to be going into the election, but it’s where Trump has put them.
So, well-played, Mr. President. Whatever else you’ve done, you have indeed taught the rest of us some lessons in hard-ball negotiating. We’ll be better for it no matter where you end up next year.
30 thoughts on "Well Played, Mr. President. Sorry To Have Doubted You"
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President DJT will be re-selected and end up back in the oval office. The criminal banking cartel (aka federal reserves, LOL) will not allow a harris/biden administration. Thus, the rioting, looting and burning will continue all across the land and the fragile bloated financial markets and corrupt banking sector will continue to function for the benefit of the selected few as well as those who make the trends their friends. Of course, my prediction could be wrong and if so, I will eat steak, and I hate steak.
Got Sliver and Gold?
Here’s something else Pres. Trump is good at: he uses a technique that I first read about in a short story by a French writer named Balzac. The main character was very rich but one would never know it because of his apparent stupidity. In all of his business negotiations he would play dumb and thus force others to have to dumb down their demands. For example he would speak in such a way that others had to fill in the details for him, thus making them say things first (‘first one to mention a number loses’). He would also ask repeatedly for people to explain themselves over and over again so he could follow it. They would get so frustrated and flustered they would finally make a deal so obviously beneficial to him that he would agree to it.
That may sound arcane regarding Trump on this, but consider how he never explicitly blamed Pelosi, et al for being so stubborn about state/city bailouts, etc. which caused everyone to then wonder what the problem was. The media had to say it for him to make any sense of it. Then by Trump “walking away” they now figure they have to do something less complicated to get anything at all, and now everyone is paying attention, thanks to the media.
I know it seems like doom is impending no matter what at this point, but that may not be true (I’ve been wrong before). For some reason I sense Trump retaining the Presidency will at least slow down a decline and is the only hope of reversing things if that’s even possible.