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“I am never too attached to an agreement or an approach” – words attributed to a certain Donald J Trump in 1987. “To start, I keep a lot of bullets in the air, because most agreements fall, no matter how promising they seem promising.”
You might think that it is useless to try to find answers to what is going on exactly in the mind of the American president by referring to a Ghostwritten book for him about 38 years ago. And yet to go The art of agreement – Like many people, friends and enemies, seem to have done it recently – is the closest that you can have a meaning in Trump’s mindset. “My transaction style is quite simple and simple,” he explains at another time. “I aim very high, then I continue to push and push and push to get what I’m looking for.”
But although the book can provide a lens through which we can better understand Trump’s psychology, its transactional brand style, the winners and the statecraft losers – or how its administration went into this degree of chaos in less than 100 days – it does not provide exactly any kind of plan for American leadership. Think less Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger, and more If I did it by OJ Simpson (although without what survives * hypothetically * commit a murder).
And yet, for Trump’s most ardent acolytes, the book has become a kind of Bible, whose blessed entries can be used to rationalize, justify and glorify all the president’s wilderness. “Many of you in the media have clearly failed The art of agreement“Has, recently said the press secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, to journalists, while Trump announced a break on prices in the middle of a market crisis.” You clearly haven’t seen what President Trump does here. “(She was right on this part.)
In Trump’s way of thinking, the means – which can be as bizarre or unrealistic as they want – are justified by the ends, which are always the same: win. The means do not need to be taken too seriously. It must therefore be quite disorienting to offer policies, ideas and arguments on the hoof and to have an army of lacquais and fanatics ready to defend them within the framework of a large plan. Consider the secretary of the Treasury Scott bestenly leaning back to justify Trump’s price to see the “strategy throughout”. Or vice-president JD Vance told journalists that “we cannot simply ignore the president’s desires” when he was asked threats to annex Greenland, or to try to use the Bible as justification of Trump’s policies in Trump.
So how can we describe the belief system that Trump’s faithful disciples have created and now subscribed, which deals The art of agreement As proof that Trump is the Savior of America? I like the word that Martin Walker, researcher at Warwick Business School, uses: “Officism”.
The great thing about the offer is that it can never be false – it is totally in the ballooning because it is never clear how far in the game of four -dimensional failures that we are. To say lies, tilting or huge mess is only part of the process. “If things do not take place as they have been promised, it is because it is part of a greater hidden strategy which understands the lie on the strategy,” explains Walker. “And if that doesn’t happen, it’s ok because it’s part of an even greater strategy.” You get the essentials.
The other thing to understand about transactions is that it is not so much a particular policy as to make people blind in the infallible master Master Dealmaker Trump. It is a kind of worship of leadership that was described Back in March 2016 on CNN.
“You have a leader who emerges and says: Do not put your faith in yourself, do not put your faith in society, put your faith in me,” said man. “For the years to come, there are many people on the right … who will have to explain and justify how they have fallen into this trap of supporting Donald Trump, because it will not end well.” The person interviewed was Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, who is nowadays more likely to be found by raising market accidents induced by Trump or suggesting that he should obtain a Nobel Peace Prize.
The irony of all this is that, if they had inspected their bible a little more closely, the followers of the disagreement may have realized that they take all this a little more seriously than they are supposed to do it. “The real excitement is to play the game,” said Trump in a section entitled “Have fun”. “I do not spend much time worrying about what I should have done differently, nor what will happen next,” he continues. “If you ask me exactly what are the offers … all are added to the end, I’m not sure I have a very good answer.” Fortunately for him, the transactors will always be ready with one.
jemima.kelly@ft.com
