Trump the Business vs Trump the President

[NM11046]

[NM11046]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/21/a-running-list-of-how-donald-trumps-new-position-is-helping-his-business-interests/

[zoogs]

"Who cares?"

[Lil' Red]

[Danny Bateman]

 

Reassuring.

[zoogs]

Krugman on Corruption

 

What’s important is not the money that sticks to the fingers of the inner circle, but what they do to get that money, and the bad policy that results. (...)

 

Think about it: Could Britain or Canada curry favor with the incoming administration by waiving regulations to promote Trump golf courses or directing business to Trump hotels? No — those nations have free presses, independent courts, and rules designed to prevent exactly that kind of improper behavior. On the other hand, someplace like Vladimir Putin’s Russia can easily funnel vast sums to the man at the top in return for, say, the withdrawal of security guarantees for the Baltic States.

[NM11046]

So to be clear, Trump Hotel organization sent a rep to Taiwan in September to discuss a major hotel build ... and today he dallied with starting a major hullabaloo by calling the Taiwaneese government official (which no president has done since 1979 due to our ties with China)

 

He's going to start a world war during these efforts to expand his empire. Makes me more sure every day that he is building a nice case toward impeachment. These things can not continue to be overlooked.

[zoogs]

I will say that if Obama had started treating Taiwan as an independent country, I would have applauded him for it. What China is doing in Hong Kong is wrong. Their stance on Taiwan should be opposed, not encouraged.

 

I'm worried about how China will respond, but the last thing I'd want is to see a U.S. President impeached for daring to not be as traditionally accommodating of the PRC as the world has always been.

[NM11046]

My problem with him doesnt revolve around this one issue with Taiwan/China- it's just another pebble on a growing moutaun of issues.

 

Are you ok with his usung this elected position to gain access to people who can move forward his personal company deals? (Btw this comment is somewhat rhetorical - Im aware of how you feel about him)

[zoogs]

Oh, not at all; it just seems at least somewhat comparable to Obama breaking with tradition by talking to Iran and Cuba. There are definite differences with how they're going about it. When Obama signaled his intentions on Iran, it was regarded at the time as a grave error.

 

I'm talking only about his taking a phone call with Taiwan's president, not the Trump Hotel connections here. That's a side of the story I'm not familiar with.

[Moiraine]

I wish we could have done something for every area China bullied. Problem is it's hard to go up against other powerful countries. It's easy when you're facing little countries like Iraq.

 

 

The issue I have with Trump doing this is I have no trust in him at all to deal with an angry, powerful country in a way that doesn't seriously hurt us in some way.

[NM11046]

That's it Moiraine - I have little confidence that he knew anything at all about the history or why he should or should not speak to them directly. If it was ballsy, and tactical Zoogs more credit to him. I think (based on the fact he's turning down intelligence briefings and that he has shown very little in the way of international relations knowledge) he was just thinking about how much money he could start counting with his itty bitty hands if he could use his influence to get the hotel up and running.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/trumps-taiwan-phone-call-preceded-by-hotel-development-inquiry

[Moiraine]

That's it Moiraine - I have little confidence that he knew anything at all about the history or why he should or should not speak to them directly. If it was ballsy, and tactical Zoogs more credit to him. I think (based on the fact he's turning down intelligence briefings and that he has shown very little in the way of international relations knowledge) he was just thinking about how much money he could start counting with his itty bitty hands if he could use his influence to get the hotel up and running.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/trumps-taiwan-phone-call-preceded-by-hotel-development-inquiry

 

I don't think he knew either.

[BigRedBuster]

So...I'm interested in the details of this. Is he leaving the ownership to his kids too?

 

If so, I wonder how much his net worth changes.

 

 

[NM11046]

I dont think he has actually shared any details (shocker) - but everything Ive heard us that no, he is not selling anything.