In the 1970 film, Patton, the General is quoted standing overlooking his victory over Rommel in North Africa, “I read your book.” This may have been literary license on the part of the screen writers, but it is a lesson for us.
Why would one not read and perhaps take to heart the words of an emerging leader? Can you say “Art of the Deal?”
Candidly, I haven’t read the book. But its on my list. However one must say that no matter what you think of the president, he certainly is the consummate deal maker.
Just looking at his actions, one can say that he typically asks for 10 times more than he will settle for, then drops back when others counter with a lessor amount, agrees somewhere in between, signs the deal, and everyone is happy. We have seen that with the tariffs, with relations in the Middle east, and the effect of policies at home.
The Greenland/Denmark deal is a cast in point. Trump asked for sovereignty, threatened tariff action, rumbled about military action, then dropped all that when those involved came to the table and agreed to talk. You can say what you want, but it seemed to work.
Whether you agree with Trump’s direction, ideas, or philosophy, its difficult not to respect his ability to cut through bureaucracy and get to the heart of the matter.
Perhaps it just no caring what people think. Its almost impossible for politicians to take that approach.
JVH
