Are Donald Trump’s dealmaking skills over-hyped?

Donald Trump’s ghost-written 'The Art of the Deal' frames the US President as a master  negotiator and offers his readers a piece of sound advice.

“The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead,” he said.

“The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and leverage is the biggest strength you can have. Leverage is having something the other guy wants. Or better yet, needs. Or best of all, simply can’t do without.”

Offered back in 1987, this advice may be foolproof but some observers are not at all convinced that Trump still follows it, if he ever did, The Independent reports.

In fact, there are those who reckon the only reason people believe Trump is a genius at dealmaking is that he rarely misses a chance to tell us so.

The Washington Post cites Trump saying back in 2016, “I’m a dealmaker. I make great deals.” And on another occasion, “I’m a very good dealmaker. Believe me.”

People have, but a glance at Trump’s track record suggests otherwise. Take the negotiations he has just embarked upon with Russia.

He has openly stated that Ukraine will have to give up territory seized by Russia, and that the US will not have a presence in a post-war scenario.

He has even mused that if Ukraine doesn’t play ball, the country “may be Russian some day” while keeping President Volodymyr Zelensky from the negotiating table.

In his desperation to make a deal, Trump is doing exactly the opposite of what he advised in his book – rushing in and handing Vladimir Putin what he wants on a plate.

As the UK’s former head of MI6, Sir Alex Younger, said on the BBC’s Today programme, “Giving it away up front feels strange.”

But perhaps Trump’s ham-handedness is only to be expected, given the slew of deals gone wrong in his hands in the past.

There is, for example, the deal Trump made during his first presidency over Afghanistan’s future, known as the Doha Accord, which effectively meant reducing US air raids and leaving the Taliban with a clear path to power.

A deal with China in 2020 supposedly obliged the Chinese to buy $200bn worth of US goods and services over two years. However, in the event, the Chinese didn’t spend a dime, according to the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

Prior to entering politics, Trump struck up a series of disastrous business deals, such as the Trump Shuttle, Trump Vodka, and Trump University, not to mention his casinos which were plunged over and again into bankruptcy.

What Trump does have is the gift of the gab and the ability to convince his supporters that he is nothing short of a dealmaking virtuoso. So far, any concrete evidence of this is thin on the ground.

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