President Donald Trump insists that personal relationships make all the difference in the world.
For example, Trump insisted that Roy Cohn was his “closest friend.” Until Cohn was diagnosed with AIDS. Then, Trump cut Cohn off.
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Trump defended former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn as a “good guy” and a “wonderful man.” Until Trump demanded Flynn’s resignation.
Trump described former Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a loyal ally. Until Trump pushed him out of favor.
In 2017, Trump said that he had “a very good relationship … with Steve Bannon,” adding that Bannon had been “a friend of mine for a long time” and that he “like[d] Steve a lot.” That was before Trump fired Sloppy Steve.
Trump also said he had “a very good relationship” with former Defense Secretary Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis and called him “a good guy.” Trump added that “we get along very well.” Trump was “with [Mattis] 100 percent.”
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Trump effectively forced Mattis out of office a few weeks later.
Come to think of it, this went around during Trump’s first term in office. There were many people who were great and talented and whom Trump liked and respected. Right up until he fired them. Those were folks like Rex Tillerson, John Bolton, John Kelly, James Comey, and … well, I’m getting bored.
But it wasn’t just members of the Cabinet. Think about Trump’s relationships with foreign leaders. During his first term in office, Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un had a summit during which they “fell in love.” They later sent love notes to each other.
But Kim Jong-un did not give up North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
In fact, Kim didn’t give up anything.
Bupkis.
Trump famously has a wonderful relationship with Vladimir Putin. On one notable occasion, Trump said that he trusted Putin’s word more than that of the American intelligence community. So naturally, when Trump tried to end Russia’s war with Ukraine early in Trump’s second term, Trump merely had to tweet, “Vladimir, STOP!,” roll out the red carpet for a personal meeting with Putin, and … you know the rest.
Bupkis.
So I was certainly relieved to hear that the most important outcome of Trump’s recent visit to China was that Trump and Xi developed a strong personal relationship. In Trump’s words: “I think the most important thing is relationship. It’s all about relationship. Have a very good relationship with President Xi and with China, and it sounds like something that doesn’t mean anything, but it’s everything.”
I’m sure that the United States will benefit from Trump’s great relationship with Xi as dramatically as the country, and Trump himself, have benefited from all of the great relationships that Trump has had in the past.
Come to think of it, maybe we should see what Ivana or Marla Maples (or Stormy Daniels or E. Jean Carroll) have to say about the value of Trump’s deep and meaningful relationships.
Or maybe we can find someone about whom Trump said, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with.”
I guess Trump’s not having fun with that guy or Ghislaine any more.
Perhaps Trump’s bloviations about his personal relationships are worth as much as his bloviations on other topics.
Nothing beneficial came out of the summit with China, and nothing’s likely to occur in the future as a result of Trump’s great relationship with Xi.
But maybe, when Trump’s out of office, Xi will invest a few million bucks in one of Trump’s real estate projects.
It’s better than bupkis.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at [email protected].