IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT OTHER COUNTRIES WANT TO TALK WITH TRUMP ABOUT TARIFFS!
By Mark Zoborowski
That’s because – unlike many American voters – they see him for who he really is. It’s partly his constant lies. If there is something that makes him look good or a perceived enemy look bad, he will exaggerate the numbers or the impact, calling a spade two spades or three spades or even a bulldozer. On the other hand, if there is something that makes his “enemy” loo good or himself look bad, he will downplay it, making Denali into a Mar-a-Lago molehill. Bad enough, but it’s his other character flaws that have the rest of the world on pins and needles. Things like his cheating, his cruelty, and even the craziness he displays from time to time.
I could add more, like criminality and his overbearing condescension, but those first three say enough.
Cheating. Very well-known. Donald Trump has cheated banks, contractors, employees, and cities where he’s held rallies He’s cheated on his taxes and on all three of his wives. Foreign leaders are naturally concerned about his cheating on existing treaties and any future agreements.
Cruelty. Trump was trained and encouraged by his mentor Roy Cohn to respond to any real or imagined attack or slight by hitting back harder. That might be good politics, but Trump seems to relish any opportunity to hit back, especially if it means punching down at someone weaker. That is cruelty, and the leaders of small nations – specifically non-Christian nations full of non-white people – are wise to be concerned about the treatment they will receive at his hands.
Craziness. Insanity is harder to define. Still, Donald Trump has described himself as a stable genius, and neither of those traits are in evidence. Geniuses don’t bankrupt business after business (even casinos!) through bad decision-making. Geniuses learn and grow as the years pass – Trump does neither. And “stable”? Trump claims to trust his own gut and instincts above all other influences. The problem is that his gut and instincts aren’t at all stable. So they – and he – yo-yo up and down and back and forth on issue after issue. He campaigned on bringing down gas and grocery prices “on his first day”, but soon after taking office declared that inflation would not be a top priority. What? He vowed to end the wars in Europe and the Middle East that same day. There are still folks dying over there. He bragged about not having any wars during his first term but now threatens unprovoked military action and takeovers against sovereign nations. And to prove his “love of peace” he wants a four-mile-long military parade on his birthday.
Yeah, other countries are right to worry about his sanity and consistency. And his cheating and cruelty. They see who and what Donald Trump really is; a wannabe dictator. It would be sad if his 77M+ voters didn’t see the same thing. What is terrifying is that they did.
