Merkel had to teach Trump how EU trade works 11 times

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

https://twitter.com/ronnin42/status/855957867043713025

Remember when this kind of stuff didn't, you know, happen?

[Crumpets]

I thought Trump hated TTIP, that is if he had heard of it.

[ProudModerate2]

Our nation is being run by a bunch of amateurs (trump and his administration).
What a sad day for the USA.

[President Johnson]

Usually a president should know this before taking office. I have no doubt that a majority of posters in this forum know more about American politics, history and world affairs than the Donald.

[mvd10]

Well, he atleast seems to be interested in a trade deal with Europe, so I suppose that's positive.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Well, he atleast seems to be interested in a trade deal with Europe, so I suppose that's positive.

I wonder if he understands the difference between the EU, The European Free Trade Association, and the other European countries. Haha, probably not.

[Inmate Trump]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

[Badger]

Well, he atleast seems to be interested in a trade deal with Europe, so I suppose that's positive.

When he's completely ignorant about the very fundamental basics of EU trade, that shows he doesn't have a clue in hell about the important details.

With that in mind, how good of a deal can we expect Trump to negotiate?

[Bismarck]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

[Doimper]

He is a genuine idiot.

[Badger]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

"Management of his business"?? The man was given hundreds of millions of dollars from his father via inheritance or other plush jobs where he earned megabucks for "helping" daddy's business. Putting that into an index fund would've made one a billionaire. This is a guy who has declared bankruptcy how many times? Remember the United States Football League?

The only "business" he's been an unqualified success at, financially and otherwise, is self-promotion. We could've just as easily elected one of the Kardashians on the same basis.

[Doimper]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

"Management of his business"?? The man was given hundreds of millions of dollars from his father via inheritance or other plush jobs where he earned megabucks for "helping" daddy's business. Putting that into an index fund would've made one a billionaire. This is a guy who has declared bankruptcy how many times? Remember the United States Football League?

The only "business" he's been an unqualified success at, financially and otherwise, is self-promotion. We could've just as easily elected one of the Kardashians on the same basis.

https://www.quora.com/Did-Donald-Trump-inherit-a-lot-of-money-and-then-increase-his-net-worth-at-an-unremarkable-rate

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[5]

Trump does deserve credit for a number of things. First, many heirs squander their fortune or spend recklessly. Trump by all accounts worked hard to invest his money well. Second, Trump made well-timed investments in Manhattan and he chose to stay invested in Manhattan. He’s made a number of excellent business decisions, and nearly everyone in business has made decisions they regret.

However, it’s also clear that if he didn’t have inheritance and financial support from his father, he couldn’t have gotten started in the way that he did. It’s also clear that he has benefitted from normal compounding, as any investor would.[/quote]

The long and short of that is that Trump is just as terrible at managing his businesses as he is at everything else he does.

[Badger]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

"Management of his business"?? The man was given hundreds of millions of dollars from his father via inheritance or other plush jobs where he earned megabucks for "helping" daddy's business. Putting that into an index fund would've made one a billionaire. This is a guy who has declared bankruptcy how many times? Remember the United States Football League?

The only "business" he's been an unqualified success at, financially and otherwise, is self-promotion. We could've just as easily elected one of the Kardashians on the same basis.

https://www.quora.com/Did-Donald-Trump-inherit-a-lot-of-money-and-then-increase-his-net-worth-at-an-unremarkable-rate

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[5]

Trump does deserve credit for a number of things. First, many heirs squander their fortune or spend recklessly. Trump by all accounts worked hard to invest his money well. Second, Trump made well-timed investments in Manhattan and he chose to stay invested in Manhattan. He’s made a number of excellent business decisions, and nearly everyone in business has made decisions they regret.

However, it’s also clear that if he didn’t have inheritance and financial support from his father, he couldn’t have gotten started in the way that he did. It’s also clear that he has benefitted from normal compounding, as any investor would.

The long and short of that is that Trump is just as terrible at managing his businesses as he is at everything else he does.
[/quote]

Excellent find on a very good article summarizing the issue. The only caveat I'd add is, again, he's socked it away in his media empire of books, TV, "universities", etc. Thus my (apt, IMHO) comparison with the Kardashians.

He's not a financial "success"; he was born amazingly wealthy and simply stayed that way. The fact he hides his tax returns should be a red flag to anyone remotely impartial.

[pbrower2a]

He's trying to negotiate with the EU as if he were dealing with a business. 

[ProudModerate2]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

These type of responses trying to defend trump are absolutely amazing to me !
We are talking about President of the USA !
This is not a entry-level position for landscaping your yard, in where the manager just decides to "give the guy a shot" and hires a dude to cut our lawn. And if it doesn't work out .... oh well.

Everything that happens EVERDAY, AROUND THE WORLD, in where our head of state and his administration do nothing or louse-things-up, is detrimental to not only our nation, but our Allies, NATO and the rest of the free world.

While we (the USA) are on "vacation" golfing every weekend, with our President continuing to act like an orange-haired clown, and while his administration (including our Sec of State) perform like amateurs, our (USA, Allies, NATO, etc) status and level of readiness to respond falls, and our enemies just smile and laugh.
No wonder Putin helped put this laughable-joke-of-a-leader to run our country.
Even ISIS is ecstatic that we voted this clown in.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

These type of responses trying to defend trump are absolutely amazing to me !
We are talking about President of the USA !
This is not a entry-level position for landscaping your yard, in where the manager just decides to "give the guy a shot" and hires a dude to cut our lawn. And if it doesn't work out .... oh well.

Everything that happens EVERDAY, AROUND THE WORLD, in where our head of state and his administration do nothing or louse-things-up, is detrimental to not only our nation, but our Allies, NATO and the rest of the free world.

While we (the USA) are on "vacation" golfing every weekend, with our President continuing to act like an orange-haired clown, and while his administration (including our Sec of State) perform like amateurs, our (USA, Allies, NATO, etc) status and level of readiness to respond falls, and our enemies just smile and laugh.
No wonder Putin helped put this laughable-joke-of-a-leader to run our country.
Even ISIS is ecstatic that we voted this clown in.

I don't think this argument is quite as vacuous as most of those supporting our so-called President. To play devil'Trumpers advocate (because I am a human being and have empathy, even if they don't), the argument in support of this sort of position would be that with Hillary - who was 100% behind the neoliberal globalist status quo -   as the only other possible choice, it was worth the cost of Trump learning on the job to get someone who would challenge the establishment into office.

Trump's actions once in office have made the above argument into a horrific joke, of course.  He's just as pro-Establishment as the Clintons. He just happens to belong to the faction that doesn't see why the peasants and slaves need to be kept in even a modicum of health and happiness, rather than just encouraged to die quickly.  (As some of us knew long before he won.)

His cultists will refuse to believe this, and twist their brains into pretzels in order to avoid admitting they were conned hugely.

[Doimper]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

These type of responses trying to defend trump are absolutely amazing to me !
We are talking about President of the USA !
This is not a entry-level position for landscaping your yard, in where the manager just decides to "give the guy a shot" and hires a dude to cut our lawn. And if it doesn't work out .... oh well.

Everything that happens EVERDAY, AROUND THE WORLD, in where our head of state and his administration do nothing or louse-things-up, is detrimental to not only our nation, but our Allies, NATO and the rest of the free world.

While we (the USA) are on "vacation" golfing every weekend, with our President continuing to act like an orange-haired clown, and while his administration (including our Sec of State) perform like amateurs, our (USA, Allies, NATO, etc) status and level of readiness to respond falls, and our enemies just smile and laugh.
No wonder Putin helped put this laughable-joke-of-a-leader to run our country.
Even ISIS is ecstatic that we voted this clown in.

I don't think this argument is quite as vacuous as most of those supporting our so-called President. To play devil'Trumpers advocate (because I am a human being and have empathy, even if they don't), the argument in support of this sort of position would be that with Hillary - who was 100% behind the neoliberal globalist status quo -   as the only other possible choice, it was worth the cost of Trump learning on the job to get someone who would challenge the establishment into office.

Trump's actions once in office have made the above argument into a horrific joke, of course.  He's just as pro-Establishment as the Clintons. He just happens to belong to the faction that doesn't see why the peasants and slaves need to be kept in even a modicum of health and happiness, rather than just encouraged to die quickly.  (As some of us knew long before he won.)

His cultists will refuse to believe this, and twist their brains into pretzels in order to avoid admitting they were conned hugely.

If your main problem with Trump is that he's too "pro-Establishment", then you don't deserve to be taken seriously.

[Bismarck]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

These type of responses trying to defend trump are absolutely amazing to me !
We are talking about President of the USA !
This is not a entry-level position for landscaping your yard, in where the manager just decides to "give the guy a shot" and hires a dude to cut our lawn. And if it doesn't work out .... oh well.

Everything that happens EVERDAY, AROUND THE WORLD, in where our head of state and his administration do nothing or louse-things-up, is detrimental to not only our nation, but our Allies, NATO and the rest of the free world.

While we (the USA) are on "vacation" golfing every weekend, with our President continuing to act like an orange-haired clown, and while his administration (including our Sec of State) perform like amateurs, our (USA, Allies, NATO, etc) status and level of readiness to respond falls, and our enemies just smile and laugh.
No wonder Putin helped put this laughable-joke-of-a-leader to run our country.
Even ISIS is ecstatic that we voted this clown in.

I didn't mean to defend Trump at all, only to express my agreement with a democratic member of this forum that I hope he can grow into the job (like most presidents do) Just because my post didn't attack Trump doesn't mean I am an idiot or even a Trump supporter for that matter. Do you all hope that he doesn't learn anything? As for his wealth he has orders of magnitude more than he inherited so to call him a complete failure is somewhat strange, even if he isn't the mastermind negotiater that he claims to be.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

He's never had to learn or work hard at anything before because his entire life has just been handed to him. I imagine (hope) that as he learns more about the actual world around him (and that it doesn't revolve around him) that he'll focus a little more on bettering it and not just go for another round of golf like he's on a four year vacation from life.

I mostly agree with this post (although Trump should get at least a little bit of credit for his management of his business). Hopefully he will learn on the job, and avoid any serious missteps in the meantime.

These type of responses trying to defend trump are absolutely amazing to me !
We are talking about President of the USA !
This is not a entry-level position for landscaping your yard, in where the manager just decides to "give the guy a shot" and hires a dude to cut our lawn. And if it doesn't work out .... oh well.

Everything that happens EVERDAY, AROUND THE WORLD, in where our head of state and his administration do nothing or louse-things-up, is detrimental to not only our nation, but our Allies, NATO and the rest of the free world.

While we (the USA) are on "vacation" golfing every weekend, with our President continuing to act like an orange-haired clown, and while his administration (including our Sec of State) perform like amateurs, our (USA, Allies, NATO, etc) status and level of readiness to respond falls, and our enemies just smile and laugh.
No wonder Putin helped put this laughable-joke-of-a-leader to run our country.
Even ISIS is ecstatic that we voted this clown in.

I don't think this argument is quite as vacuous as most of those supporting our so-called President. To play devil'Trumpers advocate (because I am a human being and have empathy, even if they don't), the argument in support of this sort of position would be that with Hillary - who was 100% behind the neoliberal globalist status quo -   as the only other possible choice, it was worth the cost of Trump learning on the job to get someone who would challenge the establishment into office.

Trump's actions once in office have made the above argument into a horrific joke, of course.  He's just as pro-Establishment as the Clintons. He just happens to belong to the faction that doesn't see why the peasants and slaves need to be kept in even a modicum of health and happiness, rather than just encouraged to die quickly.  (As some of us knew long before he won.)

His cultists will refuse to believe this, and twist their brains into pretzels in order to avoid admitting they were conned hugely.

If your main problem with Trump is that he's too "pro-Establishment", then you don't deserve to be taken seriously.

I made the point specifically to point out that this particular argument in favor of Trump was invalid. I do think Trump is a strong supporter of the status quo. (At least when it comes to perpetuating regulatory-capture and other forms of "government by the rich, for the rich".) I'm not sure I'd say that's my main problem with him.

Trump's many gross defects as a President (and a human being) are so numerous and so vast that comparing them becomes like comparing the sizes of stars.  (Only minus the bits about providing light, heat, heavy elements, etc. Although some stars are orange.)

I would say that his being an deranged ignoramus with the critical thinking capacity of an overly optimistic squirrel is definitely a worse problem than his reflexive acquiescence to billionaire and corporate wish-lists.