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[EricHiggin]

EricHiggin said:

sundin13 said:

I think there are a whole basket of reasons why that comparison is bad.

First off, this stuff that Trump said he wanted wasn't just something he said to Xi, it is something he said to the American people. Some people voted for him because they thought that he would bring in a radical reshaping of our trade policies. He has not. In politics, you have to be mindful of the people you are representing. If you oversell as a "negotiation tactic", you aren't just playing businessman, you are lying to your constituents.

And second, I honestly don't buy for a second that it was all a negotiation tactic. You have to take into account exactly how we got here. The radical steps, the trade wars, the billion dollar bailouts for farmers, the hit taken to our GDP and the damage done to the global economy. You don't set the bridge on fire for a small nod. If you do, you are an idiot. Like I said before, this is the type of deal that could come out of a good negotiation without the self-inflicted wounds. To only get this out of it, it demonstrates to me that Trump realized he was in too deep and pulled out because he needed a win and realized that his over-the-top measures weren't working. He basically hobbled across the point where he started and pointed at how far he had come, when really 99% of that journey was just climbing back up the cliff he threw himself off...

Yes, Trump at times acts like he's greater than God, performing miracles. Everyone knows that's B.S, but it does project confidence and strength, which works for many. Nobody, or very few possibly, backing Trump, actually believe he's going to completely change the system. At best he's going to be able to get the train back on the tracks, and maybe make some headway if he get's a second term, maybe.

It likely is. I'm looking for a clip I saw quite a while back but can't find it. I thought it was McConnell, yet I'm having trouble finding it because it maybe it wasn't him, but it's definitely of somebody who's around Trump, and they talk about Trumps negotiation tactics and that he always goes a little overboard so that he actually get's what he wants in the end, which has been working for him. You let the other side think they've beaten you down to a point you're finally willing to take the much lesser amount they want to give you, when really that's exactly what you wanted in the first place.

You also initially said you have a hard time seeing this as a win for Trump, yet you just said it was a win for Trump. So is it a win or not?

This isn't the clip but I watched it around the same time as the other so think I'm getting close. Trump first off won't admit he's asking for a little too much but if you read into what he says, he is implying he's asking for a little too much. The fact he says he won't just make a deal shows that China is just a tough negotiator and Trump is below the threshold for where he actually wants the deal to end up.

This clip is from August 2019, so odds are good based on the latest news, that Trump finally got China to give up a little more, which put him where he wanted to be. No point in continuing and trying to take too much. Make a reasonable deal and move forward.