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He does nothing without a quid pro quo
How Trumps New York negotiating style clashed with the ways of Washington and landed him on the brink of impeachment.
By DANIEL LIPPMAN
11/15/2019 05:01 AM EST
President Donald Trump has always viewed life through the prism of his next real estate deal, betting he can just bulldoze opponents into giving him what he wants. But Washington doesnt work that way.
Now, as he battles an impeachment inquiry that sprang from his alleged attempt to bully a foreign leader, those who know Trump say its in large measure because he never made the switch from the brash, no-holds-barred New York businessman portrayed in The Art of the Deal to the president of a country governed by laws and norms of behavior.
The disjuncture between the table-pounding imperatives of New York real estate and the delicacies of international diplomacy helps explain, these people say, why Trump is having trouble understanding why his perfect phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, may have crossed a line.
He treats a lot of conversations and a lot of negotiations, including with foreign leaders, along those lines, said another former White House official. What is it that you want? Heres what we want. How can we find a way to reach some kind of deal or accommodation where we both get what we want but in particular where I, representing the U.S., get what I want.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/15/trump-style-quid-pro-quo-impeachment-071052
Wounded Bear
(58,670 posts)Ya think?
world wide wally
(21,748 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,995 posts)Mike 03
(16,616 posts)moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. Friedman was dismayed Trump asked for nothing in return--but did he get something in return, or was he paying back a favor? Remember how rapidly that decision was made? It always seemed strange.
FakeNoose
(32,658 posts)Maybe in this case Jared Kushner worked the quid pro quo. He was certainly in on it from Day One.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)unblock
(52,262 posts)there's nothing wrong with negotiating a deal where both parties get something in exchange. ukraine you do this for america, america will do that for ukraine. nothing illegal about that. it's prefectly normal and some republicans are trying to pretend that that's all there is to this story.
well, one-on-one transactional negotiating is limited, and it can blind one to the broader strategies necessary in global politics, but that's another story.
the problem is one of agency. potus is supposed to negotiate as an agent of the united states. he's supposed to use america's power and resources to get something from ukraine for the benefit of america.
what donnie did was misappropriate the powers of the united states and of the presidency for his own personal benefit, trying to extort ukraine into giving *him* something of personal advantage to *him*, while at the same time putting various other americans at a disadvantage (the bidens).
*that* is the problem.
it's not that a quid pro quo exists, it's that the parties in the deal were *donnie* and ukraine instead of *america* and ukraine.
onethatcares
(16,174 posts)what it really boils down to is "I got a lot of money and lawyers on the payroll. If you don't take what I give you I'll bury you in attorney fees".
eppur_se_muova
(36,271 posts)... or even to inform himself. He just tries to bully everyone into doing everything his way. His way is the stupid way, and professionals in DC can see that.
maxsolomon
(33,345 posts)No, they are not, Trump Org asshole.
They want more money because you are asking them to do work that is beyond the scope of their contract. Contracting is governed by RULES AND LAWS.
dlk
(11,572 posts)Business and politics are very different worlds and as weve seen with Trump, success in one arena doesnt always translate well into the other.