5 ms·

My read is that Trump doesn't have any particular plan beyond fame and feeling important. If that means holding completely opposing views one day to the next, s

by chasing 10y ago

My read is that Trump doesn't have any particular plan beyond fame and feeling important. If that means holding completely opposing views one day to the next, so be it. This is dangerous, don't get me wrong. And he's absolutely going to get used as a tool in smarter people's schemes. Let's just hope the good smarter people can get control of him instead of the bad smarter people...

singularity2001 10y ago
That seems pretty naïve to me. Remember he is not (solely) acting as an individual but as the front man for interest groups (Army, Exxon etc, not dissimilar to the Cheney gang)
- alphonsegaston 10y ago
  Yes, a major part of Trump's success is convincing both his supporters and opponents that he is the sole conduit through which power will operate. To his supporters, anything untoward among his underlings will be checked by the great man himself, while simultaneously, to his opponents, his obvious character flaws will be his undoing. Both create a false of impression of the need to withhold judgement/action, which allows his agents to continue their work unabated.
Retric 10y ago
He may be an incompetent businessman, but he is not an idiot. After near bankruptcy his current wealth is based on connections and an aura of competence. Basically, he puts his name up but not any wealth while getting a cut of a deal. But, his stick of saying things and then retracting them as 'not serious' statements is a very useful tool. Over time people notice they heard what they wanted to hear and his words are meaningless signals. But, there is a really long line of suckers ready to believe anyone that says what they want to hear. Making a moonshot for the presidency viable in ways where a career politician would have a long line of failures to follow though using the same approach.
- woofyman 10y ago
  >After near bankruptcy He declared chapter 11 bankruptcy 4 times. Edit: his businesses filed 4 times
  - Retric 10y ago
    His companies declared bankruptcy, but he personally did not. I recall some clip where he references walking with his son past a homeless guy and say "that guy has a billion dollars more than I do." referencing his at the time negative net worth. However, he continued to service or refinance that debt without declaring bankruptcy. PS: This is actually fairly common with real estate fortunes. They are based on leverage so dips can erase fortunes, but if they keep making payments they can get past that and end up positive.
  - MichaelGG 10y ago
    He filed for chapter 11 as an individual? I don't think that's correct, is it?
  - ams6110 10y ago
    Here, failure and bankruptcy is normally celebrated as part of the process of building successful companies.
    - Retric 10y ago
      That seems more true of small companies than large ones. Pet's.com style failure tends to be ridiculed, but failure at the early stages is viewed as reasonable experimentation. IMO Theranos, get's all kind of hate in part because it scaled without a real product.
jinjin2 10y ago
> he's absolutely going to get used as a tool in smarter people's schemes This is already happening. Just see how the president of Taiwan played him, calling him up without going through the state department, in the full knowledge that he was probably not aware that he shouldn't take the call. She essentially forced him into a position where he had to say that changing the relation with Taiwan was his plan all along.
- mistermann 10y ago
  If anyone's playing him, it isn't the President of Taiwan. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bob-dole-trump-taiwan-call http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bob-dole-trump-taiwan-... http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/henry-kissinger-meets-china-president/2016/12/02/id/761953/ http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/henry-kissinger-meets-china-...

by chasing 10y ago

singularity2001 10y ago

That seems pretty naïve to me. Remember he is not (solely) acting as an individual but as the front man for interest groups (Army, Exxon etc, not dissimilar to the Cheney gang)

alphonsegaston 10y ago
Yes, a major part of Trump's success is convincing both his supporters and opponents that he is the sole conduit through which power will operate. To his supporters, anything untoward among his underlings will be checked by the great man himself, while simultaneously, to his opponents, his obvious character flaws will be his undoing. Both create a false of impression of the need to withhold judgement/action, which allows his agents to continue their work unabated.

Retric 10y ago

He may be an incompetent businessman, but he is not an idiot. After near bankruptcy his current wealth is based on connections and an aura of competence. Basically, he puts his name up but not any wealth while getting a cut of a deal. But, his stick of saying things and then retracting them as 'not serious' statements is a very useful tool. Over time people notice they heard what they wanted to hear and his words are meaningless signals. But, there is a really long line of suckers ready to believe anyone that says what they want to hear. Making a moonshot for the presidency viable in ways where a career politician would have a long line of failures to follow though using the same approach.

woofyman 10y ago
>After near bankruptcy He declared chapter 11 bankruptcy 4 times. Edit: his businesses filed 4 times
- Retric 10y ago
  His companies declared bankruptcy, but he personally did not. I recall some clip where he references walking with his son past a homeless guy and say "that guy has a billion dollars more than I do." referencing his at the time negative net worth. However, he continued to service or refinance that debt without declaring bankruptcy. PS: This is actually fairly common with real estate fortunes. They are based on leverage so dips can erase fortunes, but if they keep making payments they can get past that and end up positive.
- MichaelGG 10y ago
  He filed for chapter 11 as an individual? I don't think that's correct, is it?
- ams6110 10y ago
  Here, failure and bankruptcy is normally celebrated as part of the process of building successful companies.
  - Retric 10y ago
    That seems more true of small companies than large ones. Pet's.com style failure tends to be ridiculed, but failure at the early stages is viewed as reasonable experimentation. IMO Theranos, get's all kind of hate in part because it scaled without a real product.

jinjin2 10y ago

> he's absolutely going to get used as a tool in smarter people's schemes This is already happening. Just see how the president of Taiwan played him, calling him up without going through the state department, in the full knowledge that he was probably not aware that he shouldn't take the call. She essentially forced him into a position where he had to say that changing the relation with Taiwan was his plan all along.

mistermann 10y ago
If anyone's playing him, it isn't the President of Taiwan. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bob-dole-trump-taiwan-call http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bob-dole-trump-taiwan-... http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/henry-kissinger-meets-china-president/2016/12/02/id/761953/ http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/henry-kissinger-meets-china-...