TRUMP’S STYLE OF FOREIGN POLICY…. WHAT WILL BE THE REAL DIFFERENCE?

Well, according to the Liberal, Socialist, and Pacifist left, the end is nearly upon us! The U.S. is only 28 hrs. away from having Donald Trump as President! What is going to happen? How soon will the rest of the world really begin to hate the US? News flash….a large part of the world already dislikes the US and most of them work at the United Nations. Everyone is speculating on what Trump will be able to do and not be able to do. What will he change first? Side note: The idea that over fifty sworn political members of one US political party would deliberately not attend the inauguration is pathetic, but I won’t run down that rabbit hole now.  

We could play, “What if”, all day, but let’s take a look at a broader more important topic that will have a much larger impact on the next four years than what Trump does first or second.

STYLE:

What will be President Trump’s style in the realm of international affairs? For the past eight years, the US has taken a stance often attributed to “Progressive thinking”. Let an issue come to the table, see what the other side / sides/ have to say and or offer and then find a way to compromise that hopefully everyone will abide by. Risky in the business word and not widely accepted in just about any segment of the business world. This concept makes it extremely difficult to achieve individual goals that may not be popular with those who are coming to the negotiation table. It is easy to say, “no’ or “I don’t agree” when the point is made in a passive manner. It’s simply not how the world of international relations works. No. You don’t have to come to the table with a hammer or your shoe, Soviet jab there, but the odds of achieving an objective are not fundamentally based on capitulation to a common level.

Trump’s “style” will be very different. As I’ve said before, he attacks problems / issues/ with the attitude of an aggressive Businessman. A Businessman who has been very successful in many parts of the world. Will he come to the table with his shoe? No! Will he come to the table with a plan for what he wants to achieve? Yes. Will he leave room for negotiating a workable compromise? Yes! The art of negotiation is often the center of gravity for very successful Business minded people. Will the Trump team be aggressive? Yes and that is the real change for not only the US, but for all of those who have been dealing with the US. Is Trump’s “style” akin to Passive Aggressiveness? If I had to deal with his team on a continuing bases, I would bank on “Passive Aggressiveness[DS1] ” before and after the meetings, not during the meetings.

Offence / Defense:

Here is another way you can look at the issue of the pending Trump style.  For the past eight years, the US has come to the table on Defense! Worried the world was so angry for all the aggressive behavior the US had shown over the past decades that it had to apologize and just sit and listen. Disastrous!  A “Leader” who so many leaned on suddenly showed up and said, “I’m sorry and I don’t want to lead anymore”! The world slide into even a deeper crisis and that scared the US so much that they felt the only answer was to be even more neutral. These are the actions of Passive people. Defense! Everything you do is based upon not upsetting the other side. Everything you do is built around compromise!

Offense! Can the Trump Team go on Offense and not be perceived as being over aggressive? To the US’s enemies the answer will always be “No”! Can the Trump Team have a plan that is based on what is good for the US and what the US is willing to compromise on? Yes. Will the Trump Team have bartering as a centerpiece of its international policies? If you coming to the table with the Trump Team, you better be ready for that concept.  

Like it or not, the US has been on Defense for the past eight years. The Trump Team is coming to the table on Offense! Let’s see how that plays out.

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