by Norman Halls, contributor
President Trump was interviewed October 14, 2018, by Lesley Stahl a journalist that asks hard-hitting questions. Ms. Stahl said: “I knew that my energy was going to be there, my urge to get to the bottom of a story.” Ms. Stahl asked about everything from his staff relationship, North Korea and the death of Jamal Khashoggi. During the interview Mr. Trump showed tension and commented “I’m president – and you’re not.” Expecting the conversation would go his way. The topics were about Christine Blasey Ford, Kim Jong Un, Vladimar Putin, President Xi and the European Union. A number of Mr. Trump’s statements was not entirely correct. Such as; “The European Union was formed in order to take advantage of us on trade.” The E.U. was set up to end frequent and bloody wars between neighbors, which culminated after WWII.
In the interview Stahl asked: “What about the force separation of children?” Trump said: “That was the same as the Obama law.” False, there was no Obama Law. “It turns out Trump was also interviewing with the Associated Press. And arguably more than in his “60 Minutes” interview that weekend, the falsehoods and fanciful claims were flying. Trump downplayed his relationship with Michael Cohen, suggested separating kids from their parents at the border hadn’t been that big a deal, and doubled down on the idea that the Saudis may escape blame for Khashoggi.” Wrote Aaron Blake, Washington Post
Again, and again, Trump has taken to the stage with the me, me, me attitude to adoring crowd (by the way the crowd is not a large as they claim) and declared victory on some issue, or announced lavish new promises, without any real results or plans to back them up. Meanwhile, very steadily, and almost totally separately from Trump’s speeches and tweetstorms, his administration has been ushering in a new conservative era of government—taking specific aim at Obama-era rules, and broader aim at the big regulatory mission of government.
Trump was asked about the deficit,” that’s pure conjecture.” Although according to the CBO they are projecting the current fiscal year deficit at $973 billion, and says it expects annual deficits to exceed $1 trillion into the next decade. The CBO attributed much of the deficit to “recently enacted legislative changes. … In particular, provisions of the 2017 tax act.” Another question that needs to be asked. Exactly how much U.S. debt does China own? As of July 2018 China, holds Treasury bills, notes, and bonds worth $1.17 trillion, next is Japan $1.05 trillion, followed by Brazil and Ireland with $300 billion and the UK holds $272 billion.
“Taxpayers are paying a fortune for the use of Air Force One on the campaign trail by President Obama” tweeted Trump in July 2016. “Who pays?” But, today is another story Trump “flew 10.6 hours at $142,380 per hour for a total of $1,509,228,” for his last trip to Arizona. Judicial Watch also found that Trump logged “3.8 hours at $142,380 to a political rally in Springfield, Missouri. Who cares about the deficit or the notes held by foreign countries?
Challenging times of political upheaval are upon us. The other reliable theme of the Trump administration is foreign policy that revolves around his personality. He would bring his self-assertion skills as a businessman to cut bilateral deals with other world leaders, particularly the dictators. Is Trump looking out for the United States or his own personal interests? Trump’s leadership skills for consistency, preparedness and analytical leave much to be desired. “If a corporate leader tried to do what Trump does, he would probably get fired,” says Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business
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