Trump Invites NATO to the Woodshed

If you ever wondered how Trump might handle negotiations in a Board Room, today's breakfast meeting with Jens Stoltenberg at NATO Headquarters is a primer.

Understand that Trump is not there to negotiate particulars regarding the future of NATO.  Rather, he is setting the boundaries for whatever discussions follow.  He is direct.  To the point.  And brusque when needed.  A true model of efficiency.  What he says is true, both from a business perspective and a strategic geo-political perspective.  Tact is useful.  But it easily can become the enemy of the good.  Hidden in Trump's brusqueness is a simplicity ... a rough elegance ... and a power that is breath-taking.  He is a force of nature.

Trump opens the meeting with a 15-second greeting to all, after which Stoltenberg is invited to give his own opening remarks.  You can tell that Stoltenberg is not sure what tack Trump will take in the meeting, so he attempts not to stick his foot in his mouth.  Then, at about the 2:35 mark, alpha-male Trump takes over the conversation, armed with facts and an impolite candor that must've felt like a forced enema.  Watch the face of former Texas governor Kay Bailey Hutchinson to his right.  It's as if she pities them for how easily her "sonny boy" takes charge.

Barack Obama made a similar point to the EU back in 2014, but the EU ignored him and continued to increase its dependence on Russian oil and natural gas.  Obama simply had no negotiating experience, business acumen, foresight or global leadership skills.  Trump has all four in spades.  That Trump might succeed where Obama failed has left a lot of people seething in anger at ... Trump!  God forbid that Trump might make Obama and Hillary look inept.  They are the symbols of what Washington, D.C. looked like before Trump's magical election to the Presidency.

What might be Trump's objectives in taking this tack with NATO?  Here's one interesting perspective, which reads more like a wish list than a prophecy, but I do believe Trump thinks strategically along these lines:

BlackKnightRides says:July 11, 2018 at 9:00 am

President Trump puts the BOOM to NATO:
• NAILS NATO “Allies” for ENRICHING Russia with oil and gas deals.
• NAILS Germany for shutting down COAL & NUCLEAR Plants to do the deals.
• NAILS Germany for making itself HOSTAGE to Russia.
• CREDITS Poland for DUMPING Deals with Russia.

NO ONE has anticipated where this is going.
[Lookin at YOU, Russia & China]

NATO Allies massively shift to COAL & NUCLEAR for Electric Generation Plants.
• American COAL exports SOAR to NATO Allies.
• American NUCLEAR exports SOAR to NATO Allies.
• America SOYBEAN exports SOAR to NATO Allies, too.
• These exports eliminate TRADE EXPORT SURPLUSES with America.
• NATO Allies DROP TRADE TARIFFS & BARRIERS.

RUSSIA: Trump LEVERAGE magically appears.
• Russia’s Mideast Gas Pipeline from Iran thru Syria to Europe is now STUPID.
• Mideast Gas Pipeline has ZERO MARKET and MULTIPLIES PRICE COMPETITION.
• Russia TERMINATES alliance with Iran and SUPPORTS our Iran Sanctions.
• Russia TERMINATES alliance with Syria and SUPPORTS future Syrian Sanctions.
• Russia seeks a TRADE DEAL with America to reduce its ENERGY DEPENDENCY.

CHEATIN CHINA: Trump LEVERAGE magically appears.
• China BURNS ITSELF with American Soybean Tariffs paying more to other suppliers.
• Cheatin China BURNS ITSELF as America SHIFTS COAL EXPORTS to NATO.
• China’s PRICES SKYROCKET for Coal Imports from America and others.
• China must BACK OFF Military Expansionism in the South China Seas
• China must BACK OFF CYBER WARFARE & CHEATING WORLDWIDE.
• … or Economically STRANGLE on Coal-based Energy Shortages and Cost Spikes.

This 1984 New York Times article is an excellent reminder of the skills that Trump brings to the table thirty-four years later as President of the U.S.  He's John Wayne redivivus, replete with swagger.  One doesn't need to live in the past in order to resurrect its better qualities.  You simply take the good, leave the bad behind, and move forward.

Ah, so simple.  Yet for some, they don't learn until they get home from the woodshed.