It occurs to me that a lifetime of bullying staffers and swindling contractors has left Donald Trump uniquely suited to throwing his weight around as leader of the greatest nation on earth. And this is not a good thing.
Whereas other presidents felt constrained by tradition and presidential courtesy to negotiate with smaller nations basically as equals, President Trump feels no such compunctions.
Former Trump toady Michael Cohen described to congress how then-real estate mogul Trump would order him to threaten contractors with lawsuits if they refused to accept dramatic cuts in pay. That is pure gangsterism, which works well against smaller firms unable to survive years tied up in court. But that sort of thing didn’t serve Trump very well in the long term as he ended up as the guy no American bank wanted to do business with.
And so it goes with the Trump foreign policy playbook. NATO allies not putting up enough for their own defense? Threaten to pull out if they don’t step up. Can’t get the U.S. Congress to work out a solution on immigration? Threaten Mexico with brutal tariffs if they don’t solve the problem for you. China won’t quit with the unfair trade practices? A heavy dose of tariffs might rein them in as well.
Now, Trump’s heavy-handed tactics just might pay off in the short term. He could yet win the trade war with China and the Mexican government’s promised crack down may well stem the migrant crisis, for now.
But I would argue Trump’s ‘you need us more than we need you’ foreign policy is a bad strategy in the long run. Basically, because it won’t always be true.
For example, what happens when we need another ‘coalition of the willing’ to deter aggression like when Saddam Hussein annexed Kuwait? That only worked out because the first President Bush put all his respect, trust and stature on the line to persuade our allies to risk it.
And while gangsters are undoubtedly feared, they are not respected and certainly not trusted. They’re simply too self-centered and erratic. So, no one goes out of their way to do them a favor.
In short, Trump thinks that since a gangster is running the country, that America is strong and doesn’t need the help.
Well, as long as Trump is in the White House you better hope and pray that he’s right.