Sure. I agree with that. I said that Trump should take a very business like approach to things and make it clear that he is there to recap that we have reached the point of the inevitable but also to make sure that we are not proceeding based on any miscommunication or misunderstanding of each parties position. I am fine with that and all for it. But I am not there to try to turn him into a friend or to invite him to go camping as a team building experience. And if he wants something in return that I am okay with and advances the cause and is subject to verification, then good. Let's do that deal. Whether he hates my guts or thinks I am friend is neither here nor there to me. I am not a lib. I am not interested in how he feels. I am interested in his behavior and actions. I will leave it there.
I must disagree profoundly with your assessment of Trumps abilities. He is in my opinion, nothing but a skilled confidence game artist, and an actor. His business record is evidence of that, but not clear evidence because he continues to exaggerate his business performance. The best single evidence that he is a business failure is his zero credit worthiness among major U.S. Banking institutions, forcing him to seek credit from Russian controlled banking institutions. He started with something in the neighborhood of 200 million from family loans and inherited wealth and has managed to obtain returns that have keep him even with inflation, according to those with far more detailed information than I. When you look at Trump, you are looking at a highly leveraged individual that has relied on loans from foreign banks and money laundering to remain afloat. And now he has managed to be supported by the U.S. taxpayer. His intention is obviously to exit his present role with true wealth, assuming he doesn't go to jail first. The people Trump will meet, because of his high station, are smart, well informed, highly accomplished individuals. Trump is not going to be able to fool them nearly so easily as he fooled his investors and Trump University pigeons. He will be an ineffective negotiator at the highest levels because he has virtually zero knowledge needed for such negotiations. Fortunately he won't be doing any negotiating. Assuming a direct negotiation between North Korea and the U.S. were to transpire, any negotiating would be done by highly knowledgeable, professional experts. This is going to be difficult because of serious losses from State Department capabilities under Trump's administration . Regardless, Trump will put on a great show and make claims highly complimentary to himself. The credit he will manage to give himself will be highly exaggerated, of course, and mostly lies. You are witnessing someone acting the part of a President; not a real President. His narcissism, a useful personality trait for actors, explains his gift for playing his part in such a convincing manner to those unable to recognize they are not witnessing a president, but instead a man playing the role of a president. And doing it brilliantly from the point of view of the acting coach, or Hollywood director. On television programs, Trump's skilled performances were entertaining and harmless. Now, because he happens to occupy the Oval Office, he has become an extremely dangerous actor.
Year One List: 81 major Trump achievements, 11 Obama legacy items repealed by Paul Bedard | Dec 21, 2017, 1:04 PM Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Email this article Share With the passage of the GOP tax bill this week, the Trump administration has scored 81 major achievements in its first year, making good on campaign promises to provide significant tax cuts, boost U.S. energy production, and restore respect to the United States, according to the White House. And along the way, President Trump even outdid his own expectations and slashed at least 11 major legacy items of former President Barack Obama, including cracking down on the open border, slowing recognition of communist Cuba and effectively killing Obamacare by ending the mandate that everyone have health insurance or face a tax. According to the White House, the 81 accomplishments are in 12 major categories and include well over 100 other minor achievements. The unofficial list helps to counter the impression in the mainstream media and among congressional Democrats that outside the approval of Supreme Court Neil Gorsuch and passage of the tax reform bill little was done. Administrations typically tout their achievements broadly at the end of each year, but Trump plans to list jobs added, regulations killed, foreign policy victories won, and moves to help veterans and even drug addicts. And in a sign of support for conservatives, the White House also is highlighting achievements for the pro-life community. Below are the 12 categories and 81 wins cited by the White House. Jobs and the economy Passage of the tax reform bill providing $5.5 billion in cuts and repealing the Obamacare mandate. Increase of the GDP above 3 percent. Creation of 1.7 million new jobs, cutting unemployment to 4.1 percent. Saw the Dow Jones reach record highs. A rebound in economic confidence to a 17-year high. A new executive order to boost apprenticeships. A move to boost computer sciences in Education Department programs. Prioritizing women-owned businesses for some $500 million in SBA loans. Killing job-stifling regulations Signed an Executive Order demanding that two regulations be killed for every new one creates. He beat that big and cut 16 rules and regulations for every one created, saving $8.1 billion. Signed 15 congressional regulatory cuts. Withdrew from the Obama-era Paris Climate Agreement, ending the threat of environmental regulations. Signed an Executive Order cutting the time for infrastructure permit approvals. Eliminated an Obama rule on streams that Trump felt unfairly targeted the coal industry. Fair trade Made good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Opened up the North American Free Trade Agreement for talks to better the deal for the U.S. Worked to bring companies back to the U.S., and companies like Toyota, Mazda, Broadcom Limited, and Foxconn announced plans to open U.S. plants. Worked to promote the sale of U.S products abroad. Made enforcement of U.S. trade laws, especially those that involve national security, a priority. Ended Obama’s deal with Cuba. Boosting U.S. energy dominance The Department of Interior, which has led the way in cutting regulations, opened plans to lease 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling. Trump traveled the world to promote the sale and use of U.S. energy. Expanded energy infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline snubbed by Obama. Ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to kill Obama’s Clean Power Plan. EPA is reconsidering Obama rules on methane emissions. Protecting the U.S. homeland Laid out new principles for reforming immigration and announced plan to end "chain migration," which lets one legal immigrant to bring in dozens of family members. Made progress to build the border wall with Mexico. Ended the Obama-era “catch and release” of illegal immigrants. Boosted the arrests of illegals inside the U.S. Doubled the number of counties participating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement charged with deporting illegals. Removed 36 percent more criminal gang members than in fiscal 2016. Started the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program. Ditto for other amnesty programs like Deferred Action for Parents of Americans. Cracking down on some 300 sanctuary cities that defy ICE but still get federal dollars. Added some 100 new immigration judges. Protecting communities Justice announced grants of $98 million to fund 802 new cops. Justice worked with Central American nations to arrest and charge 4,000 MS-13 members. Homeland rounded up nearly 800 MS-13 members, an 83 percent one-year increase. Signed three executive orders aimed at cracking down on international criminal organizations. Attorney General Jeff Sessions created new National Public Safety Partnership, a cooperative initiative with cities to reduce violent crimes. Accountability Trump has nominated 73 federal judges and won his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Ordered ethical standards including a lobbying ban. Called for a comprehensive plan to reorganize the executive branch. Ordered an overhaul to modernize the digital government. Called for a full audit of the Pentagon and its spending. Combatting opioids First, the president declared a Nationwide Public Health Emergency on opioids. His Council of Economic Advisors played a role in determining that overdoses are underreported by as much as 24 percent. The Department of Health and Human Services laid out a new five-point strategy to fight the crisis. Justice announced it was scheduling fentanyl substances as a drug class under the Controlled Substances Act. Justice started a fraud crackdown, arresting more than 400. The administration added $500 million to fight the crisis. On National Drug Take Back Day, the Drug Enforcement Agency collected 456 tons. Protecting life In his first week, Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy that blocks some $9 billion in foreign aid being used for abortions. Worked with Congress on a bill overturning an Obama regulation that blocked states from defunding abortion providers. Published guidance to block Obamacare money from supporting abortion. Helping veterans Signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act to allow senior officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire failing employees and establish safeguards to protect whistleblowers. Signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act. Signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, to provide support. Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 to authorize $2.1 billion in additional funds for the Veterans Choice Program. Created a VA hotline. Had the VA launch an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with a way to access wait time and quality of care data. With VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, announced three initiatives to expand access to healthcare for veterans using telehealth technology. Promoting peace through strength Directed the rebuilding of the military and ordered a new national strategy and nuclear posture review. Worked to increase defense spending. Empowered military leaders to “seize the initiative and win,” reducing the need for a White House sign off on every mission. Directed the revival of the National Space Council to develop space war strategies. Elevated U.S. Cyber Command into a major warfighting command. Withdrew from the U.N. Global Compact on Migration, which Trump saw as a threat to borders. Imposed a travel ban on nations that lack border and anti-terrorism security. Saw ISIS lose virtually all of its territory. Pushed for strong action against global outlaw North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons. Announced a new Afghanistan strategy that strengthens support for U.S. forces at war with terrorism. NATO increased support for the war in Afghanistan. Approved a new Iran strategy plan focused on neutralizing the country’s influence in the region. Ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airbase used in a chemical weapons attack. Prevented subsequent chemical attacks by announcing a plan to detect them better and warned of future strikes if they were used. Ordered new sanctions on the dictatorship in Venezuela. Restoring confidence in and respect for America Trump won the release of Americans held abroad, often using his personal relationships with world leaders. Made good on a campaign promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Conducted a historic 12-day trip through Asia, winning new cooperative deals. On the trip, he attended three regional summits to promote American interests. He traveled to the Middle East and Europe to build new relationships with leaders. Traveled to Poland and on to Germany for the G-20 meeting where he pushed again for funding of women entrepreneurs. Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com
Thank you for your sincere post. I have copied your post and have inserted my comments after each point you have made, below (Please expand more tab to see all inline comments). Before Trump ran for President, he had it made. He was a billionaire with a great family and living a great life on his terms. He felt, like so many people I’ve talked to and what polls have consistently been pointing out over the years, that the United States is moving in the wrong direction. He decided, with his family’s (reluctant?) support, to see if he could change America’s course. Trump’s unique blend of personality and skill make him an exceptionally well qualified President for dealing with the entrenched political and media practices that are the root cause of America’s decline and voters perception they are not being represented by their politicians. Trump’s ability to effectively size up people and situations, to call effectively out disfunctional behaviour, and to weather media assaults give the United States a great chance of breaking out of our political and cultural malaise. The course that Trump is on will benefit all Americans, including, if not especially, the ones that disagree with him.