Trump is a (BAD) Negotiator; His Track Record Proves the Point
The Oval Office meeting among President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukraine's President Zelensky was a repudiation of U.S. values and leadership in world affairs.
Trump lied and lectured while Vance played the role of mob strongman, demanding tribute from Zelensky for U.S. support of Ukraine.
It was an appalling scene. Yet, MAGA Republicans write it off as "Trump being Trump," playing the bully to achieve a good outcome for the U.S. It's the image of Trump as a master negotiator that his supporters not just embrace, but celebrate.
The problem for other Americans (and the world) is that the image doesn't match reality. Trusting Trump to negotiate a fair agreement to peacefully end the Russia-Ukraine war is magical thinking at best. Just look at his track record. Trump's international agreements have failed time and again.
Sometimes, the harshest critic of these agreements is Trump himself. In his first term, Trump negotiated a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. At the time, he called it "the largest, fairest, most balanced, and modern trade agreement ever achieved." Today, he is preparing massive new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, punishing them for not doing enough (in Trump's opinion) to stop the flow of illegal drugs and to level a trade environment Trump believes is tilted against the U.S. It seems that other treaty - the one he negotiated - was neither fair nor balanced.
Some might point to the Abraham Accords as an example of Trump’s bargaining brilliance. It was a good first step but ultimately fell short of its goals to contain Iran and stabilize the Mideast. A significant shortcoming is its sidelining of the Palestinian question by mostly ignoring it. The consequences of such shortsightedness has been obvious since October 2023.
Look at Trump’s other international deals during his first term.
Trump negotiated a deal for China to purchase U.S. agriculture products, then undermined the deal by imposing tariffs on.China. China reneged on its deal to buy U.S. crops. Trump ultimately sent some $30 billion to U.S. farmers to compensate them for the failed trade agreement.
His secret agreement with the Taliban? That gave Taliban free rein to destroy the Afghan Army, to take control of supply lines and to encircle Kabul before the chaotic pullout.
Then there is the immoral abandonment of Syrian Kurds, our allies. Trump blustered then left our allies to slaughter and thousands of the worst ISIS terrorists went free.
The list goes on, but always with the same results. Deals don't live up to the hype and U.S. taxpayers often pay the price.
The fact is, Trump is a terrible negotiator on beahlf of the U.S. in world affairs. The Ukraine war is complicated and achieving true and lasting peace will be difficult. Trump's bullying hasn't produced worthwhile international agreements yet; why do his supporters believe Ukraine will be different?
Mr. Trump is, in my opinion, a miserable negotiator and his track record of overpaying, under-valuing and impulse buying illustrates it.
I saw this near-firsthand in the 90s when Northwest Airlines negotiated with the Trump organization to purchase the Trump Shuttle. I sat in numerous debriefs with the negotiating team who would laugh uproariously at the antics and ignorance of their counterparts who had no idea of the value of their assets or the depth of their financial distress. Their sole tactic was to insist that the Trump name had such value that any buyer should be honored to have the opportunity to purchase something so branded.
One doesn't have to stop there. When Mr. Trump negotiated the financing for his casinos he entered into such onerous terms that bankruptcy was the only possible outcome. Ditto his purchase of the Plaza Hotel, ditto his many failed business ventures. Ditto, ditto, ditto.
The only time Mr. Trump "negotiates" effectively is when he enjoys an overwhelming power advantage, as is seen in his longstanding and well-documented habit of screwing over small businesses. Mr. Trump contracts for services and products with such organizations and then "negotiates" with them by paying a fraction of the agreed amount, slow-paying or not paying at all.