The Art of Winning too Much to Be Doing Any Deals

[Lewie London]

So Trump’s out there now strutting around, bragging to the press, “We don’t have to sign deals,” like he’s just invented a new form of economic warfare where doing absolutely nothing is somehow a power move. Tariffs still up, trade deals still nonexistent, and the rest of the world’s still cracking on without him. It’s like turning up to a poker night, flipping the table before the first hand, and claiming victory while everyone else plays on. And he’s proud of this. Mate, I’ve seen feral cats with more long-term planning.

 

Yet, all this comes after a 90-day tariff pause that yielded exactly zero new trade agreements. This from the man who once boasted about securing 200 trade deals, with 90 of those trade deals to be done in his first 90 days as president, despite not doing any to date and there being only 195 countries on the planet. It’s like me saying I’ve dated 300 women in a town of 150 people, all of them men. 

 

To add garnish to the lunacy, he tried hyping up some “major” trade deal with the UK. British officials basically said, “Calm down, mate, it’s just a handshake and a shared sausage roll.” Even the UK ambassador looked confused, like someone had just declared a new US national holiday over a pound coin found hiding behind Farage's sofa. But Trump fans were already buying commemorative mugs and playing the national anthem on kazoos.

 

And then comes my favourite bit, the inevitable Twitter-X philosopher piping up on my feed with, “Trump’s a stable genius, give him some time, it’s only been 100 days.” Mate, only 100 days? Really lads? The man’s been in office before bruv and he’s not on a work study program. You don’t get to burn the house down, rebuild half a shed, and then ask for patience like you’re on your first shift at a fish and chips takeout stand. If this is stability, I’d hate to see him on a wobble.

 

 

[Magictoad]

???

[short-Timer]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-accidentally-admits-hasn-t-165849625.html

 

Trump Accidentally Admits He Hasn’t Made Any Trade Deals

 

President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that the U.S. doesn’t “have to sign” any trade deals, inadvertently admitting that his administration hasn’t made any progress during the 90-day pause on his disastrous tariffs.

 

During a tense meeting to discuss tariffs with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the president attempted to move the goal posts on actually completing any agreements with foreign countries.

 

“Everyone says, ‘When, when, when, are you going to sign deals?’ We don’t have to sign deals!” Trump said.

 

“We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want a piece of our market, we don’t want a piece of their market. We don’t care about their market. They want a piece of our market,” Trump rambled.

 

The president’s unwieldy statements downplaying the importance of the trade deals seemed to be cushioning the likelihood that negotiations would ultimately fail. Trump’s remarks also revealed that his administration has yet to complete a single trade deal.

 

Last month, Trump claimed to have already struck 200 trade agreements with foreign countries, a remark so outlandish it sent members of his administration scrambling to make it make sense. (There are also only 195 countries in the world.)

 

Instead of pledging to sign deals, Trump presented his own plan Tuesday. The president claimed that “at some point over the next two weeks,” he intended to sit down with members of his Cabinet and offer individualized deals to each country seeking tariff relief.

 

“We’re gonna say, ‘Here’s what this country—what we want, and congratulations we have a deal!’ And they’ll either say ‘Great,’ and they’ll start shopping, or they’ll say, ‘Not good, we’re not gonna do it,’” Trump said.

 

Trump claimed that the offers would include “very fair numbers,” but that they might also include other requests. He also said that his administration would be open to adjusting the deals based on how the countries responded.

 

“And then you people will say, ‘Oh it’s so chaotic,’ no, we’re flexible,” Trump said, referring to the press.

 

In any case, Trump continued to emphasize that his goal wasn’t actually to make deals, just to put out offers. “In some cases we’ll sign some deals, it’s much less important than what I’m talking about,” he said. He warned that in one day, he could present 100 offers, but “they don’t have to sign.”

 

Still, Trump said he wanted countries to “pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America.”