Why Trump may not be bad
TL;DR - He's a big fat liar - and a lot of wishful thinking.
Having gotten over the shock and disappointment of seeing the US vote for the orange buffoon, I'm trying to look for silver linings - of which there are actually a fair number that Trump may actually turn into somebody reasonable. There are lots of reasons, well-rehearsed, that he could and probably will be a total disaster. But trying to look on the bright side ...
1: Can he change tack now he's elected?
Fuzzy then made an entirely appropriate I think comparison between Trump and Berlusconi.Originally Posted by RandBlade in February
Trump has done what he felt he had to do to win the election, but does he really believe it? Is it really how he'll govern? If he was a true believer then yes, but I don't believe he is, I think worst case he's a narcissistic demagogue rather than a totalitarian. Best case he's a cynical opportunist who saw a window and took it.
2: His relationship with the Clintons.
Largely related to point 1, but he was a long-term friend of the Clintons. Not something you'd expect from either his whole "Crooked Hillary" campaign, the way he's portrayed himself or the way he's been portrayed by both fans and opponents. In his victory speech his language to Hillary was gracious as one might expect from a victory speech but I think there was some sincerity to it that there couldn't be if he was the extremist portrayed. Again with the comparison of "true believers" like Corbyn [and maybe Cruz] it is hard to see them using such language.3: His business empire and its influence on Trade.I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us — it’s about us — on our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she — she fought very hard.Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely.
Most career politicians have their political career behind them and potentially an opportunity to make an after dinner speech career in front of them (with companies like Goldman Sachs etc that Clinton already had behind her too). Trump has a business empire already. If there is a truly devastating 1930s style trade war with the rest of the world that has been implied by him by his campaigning then that would not just damage the economy of the USA and the global economy, it would also damage Trump's own fiscal empire. Hopefully this conflict of interest plays to our advantage.
4: "They misunderestimated me" - Bush, Nov 2000
Like Bush, Trump's campaign was "misunderestimated" [sic]. The day before the election we were wondering on another political blog I go to why Trump was holding rally's in Wisconsin, Michigan and other states like that. The polls were suggesting these were a Clinton lock and he should be going to other states to maximise his electoral college votes (especially since beating Romney's tally was viewed to be his real target, not 270 votes). The consensus view was that he was acting irrationally because that's who he is and that he'd fired his pollster so was flying blind. In reality though he knew better than the pundits and the "experts" and the rest of us commentators. There was method to the apparent madness.
5: Delegation
A President is bit like a CEO. He can give guidance, set the tone, set policies and directions but ultimately won't be doing the day to day operations. Needs to know how to delegate. Again as a businessman, Trump should understand this.
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