He did not reason himself into his preoccupation with tariffs and can neither reason nor speak coherently about them. There is no grand plan or strategic vision, no matter what his advisers claim — only the impulsive actions of a mad king, untethered from any responsibility to the nation or its people. For as much as the president’s apologists would like us to believe otherwise, Trump’s tariffs are not a policy as we traditionally understand it. What they are is an instantiation of his psyche: a concrete expression of his zero-sum worldview.
The fundamental truth of Donald Trump is that he apparently cannot conceive of any relationship between individuals, peoples or states as anything other than a status game, a competition for dominance. His long history of scams and hostile litigation — not to mention his frequent refusal to pay contractors, lawyers, brokers and other people who were working for him — is evidence enough of the reality that a deal with Trump is less an agreement between equals than an opportunity for Trump to abuse and exploit the other party for his own benefit. For Trump, there is no such thing as a mutually beneficial relationship or a positive-sum outcome. In every interaction, no matter how trivial or insignificant, someone has to win, and someone has to lose. And Trump, as we all know, is a winner.
Opinion Columnist, New York Times
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Well stated, Mr. Quinn.
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Al Lindquist
Jamelle from the NY Times is Mr. Angry Man on this rainy Friday
I think he would not consider himself a fan of the Donald. Jamelle must be angered that the prez will abuse and exploit the Chinese who have been so good to us–sending those balloons a few years to wish the corpse a happy birthday–and let’s not forget the hacking–and buying all the farm land so they can grow rice.
Of course folks like Jamelle helped elect the Donald so I wonder how he feels about that?
Anyway, it was shocking to read that the NY Times would have an anti-Donald column–the old Grey Lady must be really p…ed!
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