A month ago, I was reading about President Trump’s continuing efforts to broker deals in the Ukraine-Russian war, the Hamas hostage situation, and numerous tariff negotiations. It occurred to me that Trump is doing the kinds of things he had been doing for 40-plus years, but in a different arena.
Trump started a ‘yuuugely’ successful real estate and business development career by putting together deals – often difficult deals that seemed improbable. Unlikely deals. He had a knack for turning the improbable into reality.
Now, he is still putting together deals — but on a national and international stage.
Under Trump’s recent predecessors – Biden, Obama, Bush 43, Clinton, and Bush 41 – we did not think of them as dealmakers, and we did not think of foreign policy and tariffs as arenas for deals. Maybe that is because Trump’s predecessors did not approach foreign policy and tariffs as ripe for deal-making. And maybe they were not good at deal-making.
Can you imagine Trump’s recent predecessors in the White House attempting the deals that Trump has gone after and continues to go after?
Things have changed. We are on Trump Time. Almost daily, we learn of developments in negotiations involving the United States. Negotiations over vital issues that affect world peace, the safety of the people of the world, the security of the United States, and commerce and prices of goods.
Donald Trump has turned the world scene into the art of the deal, which happens to be the title of his early book (1987).
I first read the book in the 1990s. I was impressed with Trump’s knack for putting together deals to create the improbable. At that time, I had no thought that Trump might enter politics and could apply his obvious talents at deal-making to national and international problems. How did I miss that? Looking back, it appears to be a no-brainer. Of course, Trump’s deal-making approach could help get him nominated and elected. And once in office, his deal-making could revolutionize the Middle Eastern conflicts, the Russian-Ukrainian war, tariff imbalances and other international relations.
As President, Trump could still be a dynamic broker, but instead of a broker in real estate and finance, he could be a broker for peace. A broker for lower drug prices that would put U.S. consumers on par with other countries. A broker for the security of the United States. A broker for lower interest rates and lower inflation.
If the problem can be brokered, Trump can make a deal.
He has begun all of that and is continuing to deal, deal, deal. He has 3 and 1/3 more years to practice the art of the deal in the Oval office. And he has JD Vance and Marco Rubio at this elbow watching and learning.
The deal-making does not need to stop when Trump completes his term in office. We do not need to return to a time when lesser nations took advantage of the United States.
When Trump is no longer President, Trumpism needs to continue. Trump-style deal-making.
Re-reading Art of the Deal was a reawakening for me. I trust it would be for you too.
The book is available in print, e-book and audio book. If you do not have time to read it (or read it again), you can get the audio book and listen to it as you drive around. That’s making good use of your time – something that President Trump is also good at.
“I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump
Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at [email protected]
