| ...Trump chestbeats about how “China & Japan are taking money from us.”... I think Trump is doing nothing more than telling the rest of the world that America is no longer the patsy when it comes to negotiating trade deals. Sure, my Japanese wife is also anxious about what Trump is saying. And the NHK television station, being owned by the Japanese government, will certainly look to defend Japan's self interest. Trump's chest-beating is having the desired affect: getting people's attention. So he's set up the right climate for the negotiations to take place. America will better look after its self-interests now. If the Midwest and Eastern states of the US get their Toyotas made in Lexington, Kentucky, why can't the West Coast get its Toyotas from a Japanese owned plant in Nevada or Arizona. I think this is the result Trump wants to achieve. And Trump will absolutely fight the movement to make Mexico the new manufacturing hub of the United States. |
-—”I think Trump is doing nothing more than telling the rest of the world that America is no longer the patsy when it comes to negotiating trade deals.”
Nope, he’s doing more than that. Yes, he’s correct to “tell the rest of the world that America is no longer the patsy when it comes to negotiating trade deals.”
But he’s committing gaffes because he’s unable to be DIPLOMATICALLY ARTICULATE (and note I’m not asking for him to be PC).
What he meant by his phrase “Japan and China are taking our money” is that “Japan & China are taking our jobs because we are non-competitive.”
Both you and I can make that translation from Trump-speak to what he meant.
However he said something different (”Japan & China are taking our money”).
He’s just not sophisticated in Diplomacy and has a lot to learn once he becomes president. Along the way he will alienate allies, like he’s alienated the vast majority of Japanese people.