Did voters expect President Trump to make or break deals? We are going to count the deals you have made and kept versus the ones you have broken. He said it would be easy to reach agreements with politicians. Let’s see how it went.
Achievements.
1. Executive orders. President Trump has enthusiastically signed executive orders at public events in the Oval Office to undo Obama’s policies. Republicans in Congress had complained when President Obama addressed issues they were unwilling to address by signing executive orders that were called illegal and even tyrannical. Republicans themselves are now rooting for this president for executive action on issues they would rather not have to vote for.
2. Tax reform. Calling it a tax cut for the middle class, President Trump celebrated a bill that rewarded wealthy donors and large corporations while increasing the national debt. Republicans in Congress saw this as a great achievement they had worked for for many years.
3. The budget. A national budget was passed with the support of Democrats. Republicans who opposed the cost of items sought by Democrats are now backing President Trump to withhold spending – in other words, not abiding by a deal.
Broken promises and agreements.
1. Repeal and replace Obamacare. Candidate Trump promised to replace Obamacare with better, less expensive and comprehensive health care. Once in office, it became clear that there was no replacement plan. The failure to develop a replacement played a role in defeating the legislative repeal efforts. Now Obamacare is slowly being undermined in numerous ways, each of which hurts thousands of Americans without offering helpful alternatives.
2. Political deals. In a meeting with the top four leaders of Congress, President Trump struck a deal with Democrats for a “clean” DACA bill, much to the amazement of Republicans at the meeting. Soon after, he reneged and blamed the Democrats. He later organized a televised discussion with various members of Congress, promising to support any bipartisan bill the group proposed as long as it represented a “love letter.” When a bipartisan group of senators presented him with a compromise, the president shouted it down and insulted African countries.
3. Multilateral agreements. President Trump has made NATO allies uncomfortable with his insults, his hesitancy to affirm the defense commitment that holds the alliance together, and even expressed reservations about defending the Baltic countries threatened by Russia. The Paris climate accord and the Iran accord were rejected even though they were important internationally supported achievements that worked. Traditional peaceful relations with Canada and Mexico have been disrupted by attacks on NAFTA and petty comments directed at friendly neighbors. The refusal to join a Pacific trade deal also broke commitments with Asian trading partners, leaving them at the mercy of Chinese economic power.
4. Defense of the Pacific. The only clear achievement of the summit with North Korea in Singapore was a betrayal of defense agreements with South Korea and Japan. Two previous administrations participated in denuclearization talks with North Korea and obtained written commitments at an early stage that were specific and required verification. At an advanced stage, North Korea resisted carrying out the agreements. Previous US administrations had negotiated with the participation of our allies South Korea and Japan and did not grant military concessions much desired by China and North Korea.
But President Trump believes that making a deal with North Korea is not that difficult. He launched the diplomatic process by having a personal meeting with Kim Jong Un. The summit included a private discussion between the leaders with only translators present so that no one could make a transcript of their conversation. No records were needed, according to President Trump, due to his fabulous recollection of everything that was discussed. The outcome of the summit was a short statement less specific than any previous diplomatic agreement with North Korea.
In a press conference at the end, the president announced a commitment to halt the military exercises and eventually withdraw US troops from North Korea. All of this was based on verbal assurances from Kim Jong Un that North Korea would eliminate nuclear weapons and hand over the bodies of American victims of the Korean War.
Without consulting with South Korea and Japan, and also without specific written agreements that include verification, President Trump jeopardized defense agreements with his allies and announced, based on his personal trust in Kim Jong Un, that the problem of nuclear weapons in North Korea had been resolved.
Conclution.
After a year and a half in office, President Trump broke political agreements, withdrew from multilateral agreements, and threatened multilateral trade and defense agreements. Why has the negotiator become a deal buster?
The answer is demonstrated to the American public every day of his tenure. If Trump didn’t make the deal, it is worthless. Multilateral agreements involving give and take between the parties fall short of Trump’s standards. As seen in other situations, everything is always about him. Instead of multilateral pacts based on fairness, all participants in the agreements must now revolve around a Trumpian sun. A secret conversation with Kim Jong Un solved the North Korean problem despite the fact that the allies and the world do not see strong evidence of what was agreed. We must trust Trump, who swears that we can now trust Kim Jong Un. If Trump comes to an agreement, we must believe that it is good.
Finally, dear voter, look at what American bankers and those involved in business had to say during the presidential campaign: He doesn’t pay his bills. Trump bragged about taking advantage of bankruptcy to get ahead in business. Donald Trump’s true specialty is breaking deals in ways that benefit him individually, regardless of who gets hurt. If the North Korean and Russian propaganda media praise Donald Trump, he thinks the United States is finally earning respect regardless of the damage to our allies or world democracy.