[throwaway84742]

Trade negotiations are underway. This is a part of that, as was the initial ban. Trump does this again and again: he creates leverage in the form of negative consequences should he walk away from the table. Then he gives some of it back much to the relief of the other side, in exchange for something else he needs. He negotiated thousands of deals, some of which were very complicated. It could well be that he’s the strongest negotiator we ever had in that position.

[cthalupa]

>It could well be that he’s the strongest negotiator we ever had in that position.

So strong that he can't negotiate deals beneficial enough for him that he can afford to hold up his end of them, and instead files for bankruptcy so that he doesn't have to pay for it. He's taken such good care of all of the hard working US citizens he's interacted with in his days as a business man.

[chatmasta]

Do you think Trump played no part in negotiating peace between the Koreas? No president has been able to accomplish that in 53 years...

Looks like good negotiation to me. South Korea’s foreign minister even credited him for his work on the deal (which is still ongoing).

Hate Trump all you want, but fact of the matter is he’s a damn good salesman, marketer and negotiator. It’s how he won the primaries and the presidency. And now it’s how he’s winning diplomacy.

You can have a problem with his tactics, but at this point the results are really starting to speak for themselves.

[cthalupa]

>Do you think Trump played no part in negotiating peace between the Koreas? No president has been able to accomplish that in 53 years...

That's exactly what I think. I can't begin to fathom why anyone would think that he does. Because of the ridiculous tweets?

The obvious reason for the increased discussions between North and South Korea is that China has been less and less supportive of North Korea - a trend that started long before Trump took office - and Kim Jung Un isn't an idiot. Without China's support, North Korea ceases to exist. The only way for Kim Jung Un to survive with any measure of power is to make nice with the South.

Trump has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[actsasbuffoon]

Let's also not forget that North Korea's nuclear weapons facilities were recently damaged in an earthquake.

As we say in finance, if you think the world undervalues a thing then you buy it, and if you think the world overvalues a thing then you sell it. Kim's weapons program suffered a significant setback, making it less valuable in his eyes. Meanwhile the rest of the world still places a high value on getting Kim to abandon the program.

In other words, Kim probably has more to gain from abandoning the program than he does from trying to repair the damage. Even if we had a sack of potatoes in the White House, it still makes sense for Kim to try to make a peace deal right now.

[joezydeco]

Let's also not forget that North Korea's nuclear weapons facilities were recently damaged in an earthquake.

No, their test facilities were damaged. It was a hole in a mountain used to test their warheads, and the hole in the mountain has collapsed.

NK completely retains the ability to produce and launch warheads if they want.

More than likely NK doesn't need to test their weapons anymore. They're a fully capable nuclear power now and they will be bringing that fact to the negotiating table.

[chatmasta]

So the South Korean foreign minister is just making things up?

Or maybe you have a preconceived notion you are unwilling to reconcile with the evidence in front of you?

[dragonwriter]

> So the South Korean foreign minister is just making things up?

Sure. South Korea’s relationship with the US government (whoever heads it) is important, and fawning—even if false (heck, perhaps especially powerfully when verifiably false)—public praise is a well-known important tool to maintain good relations with Trump.

Kang is good at her job.

[throwaway84742]

And yet he still has 4 billion dollars and is a president of the US. Must be pretty good at negotiating.

[maxxxxx]

That's like saying Pablo Escobar was good at business because he amassed billions of dollars.

[beat]

Technically, Pablo Escobar was a good businessman.

And there's the rub. Economics are amoral. There's nothing inherent in capitalism that says "We only make money in ways that are legal and ethical". Corruption is part of the nature of the beast. This is why we need to regulate markets.

Make a desirable product illegal, and you've improved the profitability of that product's market, by increasing friction. (As an aside - as Peter Thiel points out, in a free market, profits are driven to zero. That's just math. All profitability is derived from friction, from failure of the free market.) Society winds up attracting the least ethical businesspeople this way - the Pablo Escobars, drawn by the incredible profits that illegal products can generate.

Corruption is a similar problem. Politicians, especially executives, wind up with massive monopoly leverage that can reward or punish businesses. This creates a strong incentive to offer personal financial gain to politicians in exchange for favor. The fact that this is illegal only increases the amount of reward that must be offered.

This makes "businessman" politicians exceedingly dangerous. If they're used to shortchanging ethics in the name of profit already, the power of office is far too potentially profitable to resist.

[selectodude]

Except Pablo Escobar was actually a very good businessman.

[cthalupa]

And actually had a net worth in the billions.

Two traits Trump does not share with Escobar.

[bdcravens]

> president of the US. Must be pretty good at negotiating

My understanding is that Paul Manafort, Donald Jr, etc are the ones who did most of the negotiating with Natalia Veselnitskaya.

[actsasbuffoon]

No, remember they tried to solicit interference in our electoral process by a hostile foreign power, but were unsuccessful. Apparently that's better... for reasons which no one seems to be able to adequately explain.

[cthalupa]

There isn't actually any evidence he is worth 4 billion dollars. (And even Forbes, which barely does any work to verify this sort of stuff, has revised it down to 3 billion)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-lied-to-me-abou...

His actual personal net worth is likely closer to a few hundred million, and almost all of that is from his inheritance. He would be worth more if he had just put all of the money his father had given him into an index fund tracking the S&P 500.

Basically all of his net worth beyond that is in how he values the Trump name as a brand. This doesn't make much particular sense, as the Trump name has not helped Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Entertainment Resorts, etc. etc. etc.

He's a con man and you've been conned.

[skosch]

Any proof of that 4 billion dollar figure?

[dragonwriter]

> And yet he still has 4 billion dollars

Well, no, they doesn't seem to be true, but he has quite a bit net worth, as a result of generating mediocre returns on family-derived wealth. Unless he negotiated with his Creator for what family he would be issued when sent to Earth, that's not really much of an endorsement of unusually strong negotiating skills.

> and is a president of the US.

Mostly a product of an unusually weak opponent, not negotiating strength (to the extent there is anything arguably unusual about negotiations by Trump on the road to the White House, it's the “who with” and not the “how well”.)

[mttyng]

What deals? What complications?