Trump and the art of “traceism”

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“I never stuck too much to an agreement or an approach”: words attributed to a certain donald j Trump in 1987. “To begin with, I keep many balls in the air, because most of the offers fall, no matter how promising at first.”

You could think that it doesn’t make sense to try to exactly what happens in the mind of the President of the United States, referring to a book written for him about 38 years ago. And yet, do it through The art of agreement – Since many people, friend and enemy seems to have been doing late, it is the closest thing you can make sense for Trump’s mind. “My clothing style is quite simple and simple,” he says at another point. “I am very high and then I keep pressing and pushing and pushing to achieve what I am later.”

But, although the book can provide a lens through which we can better understand Trump’s psychology, its trademark style, winners and statistical losers, or how its administration has descended to this degree of chaos in less than 100 days, it does not provide exactly any model for American leadership. Think less Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger, and more If you did of OJ Simpson (although without things on * hypothetically * commit murder).

And yet, for Trump’s most burning acolytes, the book has become a kind of Bible, the blessing of which can be used to streamline, justify and glorify all the wild rotations that the President makes. “Many of you in the media clearly lacked The art of agreement“The 27 -year -old Press Secretary of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, told journalists recently, as Trump announced a pause on the rates in the midst of a thaw on the market.” You couldn’t clearly see what President Trump does here. “(He was right on this part.)

In Trump’s mode of thinking, the media, which can be as extravagant or unrealistic as they like, justify the ends, which are always the same: to win. The media should not be taken too seriously. It must be quite disorient, then, to present policies, ideas and arguments on the hoof and have a Lackeys army and zelots ready to defend them as part of a great plan. Consider Treasure Secretary, Scott Bessent, who bends backwards to justify Trump’s rate as the “strategy over time”. Or the Vice President JD Vance who told journalists that “we cannot simply ignore the President’s wishes” when asked about threats to annex Greenland or try Use the Bible as justification for Trump America’s first policies.

Then, as we can describe the belief system to which Trump’s faithful disciples have created and subscribed now, which The art of agreement As proof that Trump is the Savior of America? I like the word Martin Walker, researcher at Warwick Business School, uses: “Dealism”.

The great thing of tractism is that it can never be mistaken -it is completely resistant to the bullet because it is never clear to the extent to which we are in the game of four -dimensional chess. To direct lies, to collide or to make a huge mess is just part of the process. “If things are not the way they were promised, it is because it is part of a bigger hidden strategy that includes lying on the strategy,” says Walker. “And if that doesn’t happen, it’s OK because this is part of an even greater strategy.” Get the Gist.

The other thing that needs to be understood about treatment is that it is not so much of any particular politics, as of having a blind faith in the infallible Master Trump. This is a type of leadership worship there described very well In March 2016 in CNN.

“You have a leader who emerges and says: Do not put your faith in yourself, do not put your faith in society, put your faith in me,” the man said. “In the coming years, there are a lot of people on the right. The interviewee was Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, who is more likely to meet more than Trump-induced market falls or suggesting that he should obtain a Nobel Peace Prize.

The irony of all this is that, if they had inspected their Bible a little closer, followers of the traceism could have realized that they take everything more seriously than they are destined. “The real excitement is to play the game,” Trump says in a section called “Funny”. “I do not spend much time to worry about what I should have done differently, or what will happen afterwards,” he continues. “If you ask me exactly what are the offers. All that add to the end, I’m not sure I have a very good answer.” Luckily for him, the dealers will always be ready with one.

jemima.kelly@ft.com