Commentary by Stephen Macaulay
“So there’s no deal until there’s a deal.” –Donald Trump
Maybe the spell will finally be broken.
Maybe people will realize that Trump is not a consummate dealmaker.
He may not even be a dealmaker who could get a good price at a used car lot.
Trump claimed that he would resolve the Russian war against Ukraine within 24 hours of his sitting down behind the Resolute Desk.
Funny thing: the Resolute Desk was a gift from Queen Victoria to 19th president Rutherford B. Hayes.
One of the things Hayes did was withdraw federal troops from the South, thereby helping put an end to Reconstruction.
One of the things that Trump is doing is putting troops in the streets of US cities, thereby helping create a greater divide in our body politic.
Another thing that Hayes did was push for merit-based government appointments as opposed to the spoils system.
Another thing that Trump is doing is deploying the spoils system in a way that makes those in the 19th century seem like amateurs.
Some seven months after sitting down behind that desk, he still hasn’t delivered. (Of course, one of the things he now says is that he was just joking about forging peace in Ukraine. Ever notice how if there is something that is in some way wrong, he claims he wasn’t serious or it is in some ways fake or has something to do with someone else, generally Biden?)
Trump met with Vladimir Putin, ostensibly to create a “deal.”
And Putin — after reportedly stroking Trump’s ego by claiming everything from the 2020 US presidential election being rigged in part because of mail-in ballots and by saying that had Trump been president in 2022 the war in Ukraine wouldn’t have occurred (consider how bizarre that is: Putin invaded Ukraine; if he didn’t want the war to start, he wouldn’t have done that and it wouldn’t have mattered who was in the Oval Office or any other office, for that matter) — climbed back into his Ilyushin II-96-300PU and returned to Moscow, where he could continue directing his troops to continue to blow up apartment houses, hospitals, schools, and whatever else in Ukraine.
No deal.
What deals has Trump made?
There were the 90 deals in 90 days that were supposed to occur regarding the so-called reciprocal tariffs.
They didn’t occur.
And while there have been many “deals” announced, by and large these are “frameworks” or parts of “on-going negotiations.”
Consider: To deal with Putin, Trump would need to deploy things like strong communications skills (since taking office, his meandering answers to questions lead some people to wonder whether Grandpa should spend more time sleeping and less time on Truth Social in the middle of the night) and the ability to perform strategic thinking.
To deal with countries that he’s arbitrarily applied tariffs to, it isn’t a matter of give-and-take, it is essentially Trump saying, “This is my country and if you want to do business with my country, you have to go through me.” That’s not a “deal.” That’s Trump being a bully. (And if there is any doubt about whether these tariffs are part of a strategic plan, then consider the additional tariffs applied to Brazil because Trump doesn’t like the way Bolsonaro is being treated by the democratically elected government or the absurd tariffs (based on “national security” and drug trafficking) with our closest and once-best-ally Canada.)
And consider this: On August 13, Trump said there would be “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin didn’t agree to end the war after the two leaders met.
They met.
There are not consequences.
Hell of a deal.
Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.