I've had some thoughts on Trump lately, and I thought I would share those.
● First, let me say that I'm seeing more and more people starting to support him as they look at his record. I find that interesting. Personally, I've seen a couple liberals become firm supporters and some libertarians who just like being different. Both groups have said that they really like the stuff he's done "if only he would stop tweeting!" I think this bodes well for him. Not only does this suggest that his support will grow (Obama's was shrinking at this time in his presidency and he would ultimately lose 6 million votes in his second run), but even more it puts the lie to the narrative that Trump hit bottom and kept falling. Trump may very well surprise people.
● Secondly, I think the media continues to be his best friend. Not only will they blow every scandal out of proportion, creating a sort of boy-who-cried-wolf teflon that has most people no longer listening, but the attacks they choose to promote are pathetic. The one that always makes me shake my head is Kelly Anne Conway's husband George Conway. George can be counted on to say something obnoxious every news cycle and the media repeats it like it matters. The thing is, George comes across as the kind of guy who's only worthy of news time if he gets caught jerking off behind a theater. So using him as a weapon against Trump is pathetic.
● Trump has also been lucky that his enemies keep imploding. The #metoo monster has devolved into mud wrestling. The Democrats have picked losers to run against him. The woman who just accused him of rape, not only is pimping a book, not only claims another powerful man raped her, not only kept the coat she was supposedly wearing when Trump did it... but now she's talked about how most people think of rape as "sexy." CNN actually cut off the interview to try to contain the damage, but it got out. She's a nut.
● The Iran thing has me thinking. I always thought Trump was kind of a moron, but his handling of Iran and North Korea both impress me. He's the first president and one of the few in Washington to understand what both countries actually want. Kim in North Korea wants to be able to enjoy his wealth overseas... to party on in cool cities. Trump offered him normal relations to let him do that. He even talked about developing luxury services in North Korea, which must have tickled Kim pink. The situation hasn't solved itself yet, but I actually think it will fairly soon.
Now Trump has said he wants to "Make Iran Great Again." This is actually exactly what Iran wants. Iran sees itself as the great Persian Empire and it wants influence in the Gulf. We've taken that away from it and that's really been the struggle between us. Other Presidents have offered money or vague promises of helping their economy, but that's not what they want. Again, Trump is the first to really understand what they want. What impresses me here is that Trump seems to understand both countries even as our establishment (left and right) remains clueless. I honestly didn't know he had it in him.
I've also come to understand his negotiation style. Step one, you freak the other side out by promising to do the one thing that scares them. Then you offer to negotiate. If things stall, he acts like he will pull the trigger or he may even pull the trigger. Then they back down and a deal is reached that is good for both sides. He's done this with immigration and foreign aid, tariffs and trade wars, sanctions, deportations, and now bombings. It's worked really well for the most part.
He's a good deal smarter than he seems.
Thoughts?
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● First, let me say that I'm seeing more and more people starting to support him as they look at his record. I find that interesting. Personally, I've seen a couple liberals become firm supporters and some libertarians who just like being different. Both groups have said that they really like the stuff he's done "if only he would stop tweeting!" I think this bodes well for him. Not only does this suggest that his support will grow (Obama's was shrinking at this time in his presidency and he would ultimately lose 6 million votes in his second run), but even more it puts the lie to the narrative that Trump hit bottom and kept falling. Trump may very well surprise people.
● Secondly, I think the media continues to be his best friend. Not only will they blow every scandal out of proportion, creating a sort of boy-who-cried-wolf teflon that has most people no longer listening, but the attacks they choose to promote are pathetic. The one that always makes me shake my head is Kelly Anne Conway's husband George Conway. George can be counted on to say something obnoxious every news cycle and the media repeats it like it matters. The thing is, George comes across as the kind of guy who's only worthy of news time if he gets caught jerking off behind a theater. So using him as a weapon against Trump is pathetic.
● Trump has also been lucky that his enemies keep imploding. The #metoo monster has devolved into mud wrestling. The Democrats have picked losers to run against him. The woman who just accused him of rape, not only is pimping a book, not only claims another powerful man raped her, not only kept the coat she was supposedly wearing when Trump did it... but now she's talked about how most people think of rape as "sexy." CNN actually cut off the interview to try to contain the damage, but it got out. She's a nut.
● The Iran thing has me thinking. I always thought Trump was kind of a moron, but his handling of Iran and North Korea both impress me. He's the first president and one of the few in Washington to understand what both countries actually want. Kim in North Korea wants to be able to enjoy his wealth overseas... to party on in cool cities. Trump offered him normal relations to let him do that. He even talked about developing luxury services in North Korea, which must have tickled Kim pink. The situation hasn't solved itself yet, but I actually think it will fairly soon.
Now Trump has said he wants to "Make Iran Great Again." This is actually exactly what Iran wants. Iran sees itself as the great Persian Empire and it wants influence in the Gulf. We've taken that away from it and that's really been the struggle between us. Other Presidents have offered money or vague promises of helping their economy, but that's not what they want. Again, Trump is the first to really understand what they want. What impresses me here is that Trump seems to understand both countries even as our establishment (left and right) remains clueless. I honestly didn't know he had it in him.
I've also come to understand his negotiation style. Step one, you freak the other side out by promising to do the one thing that scares them. Then you offer to negotiate. If things stall, he acts like he will pull the trigger or he may even pull the trigger. Then they back down and a deal is reached that is good for both sides. He's done this with immigration and foreign aid, tariffs and trade wars, sanctions, deportations, and now bombings. It's worked really well for the most part.
He's a good deal smarter than he seems.
Thoughts?