As Ed Elson and Justin Wolfers point out about both the tariffs and the Iran war......the disordered psychological processing underpins the failures of both.
Justin Wolfers on how the same people directing the trade war are also writing the script on Iran:
“It’s the same writer’s room running the trade war as is running the Iran war. The president is a really brilliant TV producer. Great sense of drama, of narrative, of intrigue, and I always want to tune in for next week. I didn’t actually watch The Apprentice, but we know some people did. He appears to be taking that to the White House. The analogy though is useful. It’s the same writer’s room.”
As I wrote on page 128 of Bandy X. Lee’s, “The MUCH more dangerous case of Donald Trump”:
"...as we have repeatedly seen throughout the world and especially in American politics, nearly every issue is framed in binary, zero-sum terms. If something does not go 100 percent in the narcissist’s favor, they claim they are being treated unfairly. This is because narcissists are pathologically subjective, meaning that they can only see the world through their own limited perspective and believe they deserve 100 percent of the proverbial pie or 100 percent of their transaction. And anything less than 100 percent is then viewed through the lens of unfairness. Unsurprisingly, dictators and wannabe dictators covet and demand 100 percent power, 100 percent of the authority, and 100 percent loyalty.....[this] results in life being defined in binary terms, such as 'winners' and 'losers'. In this binary framed context, you either “win” or you are a 'loser'."
Along those same line, Trump's narcissism also prevents him from being a good negotiator because in order to be a good negotiator you have to understand what the other side wants, and what will motivate them. But the severity of Trump's narcissism (and resulting lack of empathy) prevents him from having the ability to put himself in someone else's "shoes". In the context of war negotiations, these disordered symptoms present as an inability to conceptualize the other party's wants, needs, and motivations. This is on display in Iran, where Trump keeps thinking that because he's hitting them hard, they're begging for a deal.
This is likely projection.....another symptom of his pathologies: Because that's how Trump thinks or would react, then assumes that's how everyone else thnks/would react, because he can't fathom that anyone would think/act differently than he would.
As a result, we have a president who is clueless about his adversary (Iran)...... ....and an adversary (in addition XI/Putin) who understands the president's psychological vulnerabilities exceptionally well. The reality is that Trump is weak, insecure, and needy...... ....and they know it.
As a result, China and Russia are helping Iran kill U.S. service members, and drag the world economy down..... ......while Trump pathetically, naively, and weakly insists that they are not because Xi and Putin respect ("like") him so much.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-putin-xi-iran-aid-b3021251.html
Remember, Steve Bannon called Trump “...the worst negotiator in human history….”:
This obviously puts the U.S., as well as the rest of the world, at risk. This is one of the many reasons why Trump is....and always has been.......unfit for the office.
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