To the Editor:
Re “Trump Walks Out When Pelosi Says No to Wall Funds” (front page, Jan. 10):
Much has been made of the fact that as a candidate Donald Trump promised repeatedly to build a border wall that Mexico would pay for. We should not forget, however, that he also claimed that nobody negotiated better deals than he did and that Americans would soon be winning so much that we would tire of winning.
Even someone who isn’t the world’s greatest negotiator can recognize that demanding “I want this much money to do something you oppose, I will accept no less and I will give up nothing in exchange” is, in general, a terrible negotiating strategy.
We have 800,000 federal workers either furloughed or working without pay, countless contractors put on hold, and millions of Americans already negatively affected by Mr. Trump’s petulant shutdown, all because the world’s self-proclaimed greatest negotiator is hung up on getting funding for a wall that he promised we wouldn’t have to pay for and most of us know we don’t need.
If this is winning, Mr. Trump is right: I’m tired of it.
Jonathan Maskit
Granville, Ohio
To the Editor:
When are the Democrats going to realize that President Trump’s wall has nothing to do with border security? Mr. Trump is first and foremost a builder; for him, a wall is the ultimate vanity project. Hadrian had his eponymous wall, and the Ming Dynasty emperors had their Great Wall of China.
He wants the world to look back across the ages in perpetuity and see his sinuous monolith snaking across the southwestern border, a potent symbol of his masculinity. Why not just let him build a giant monument to himself in the middle of the National Mall and be done with it?
David J. Anderson
Pasadena, Calif.
To the Editor:
At last the secret of President Trump’s legendary negotiating prowess has been revealed:
1. Ask your opponent if she is willing to cave in completely.
2. Slam hands down on table.
3. Stomp out of room.
Anthony M. Paul
Coral Gables, Fla.
To the Editor:
Frank Bruni’s column about the neediness and narcissism of President Trump is very well written and documented (“A Symbol of Trump’s Neediness,” Jan. 9). The question is: What to do? The leading Democrats are, in fact, playing his game by making not financing the wall a top priority. This is just as ridiculous as Mr. Trump’s stand. The Democrats should give in on the wall (or at least appear to) while making sure they gain something that really is a top priority.
Taking down a bully is not always the best idea; sometimes it’s much better to outmaneuver him, even if he then thinks he’s won and gloats about it.
Melinda Certain
Madison, Wis.
To the Editor:
Re “F.D.A. Suspends Most Safety Inspections of Food” (news article, Jan. 10):
Some 128,000 Americans are hospitalized and 3,000 die annually from food-borne illness. That’s with the Food and Drug Administration operating at full force. Now, because of the government shutdown, 41 percent of the agency’s workers are on furlough. We are one E. coli outbreak away from the clearest demonstration that the government shutdown that President Trump insists is necessary to achieve his goal of building a barrier along the Mexican border for the safety of our people is perversely having the opposite effect.
Bernard J. Kabak
New York
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Trump’s Walkout From Wall Negotiations
Opinion | Trump’s Walkout From Wall Negotiations
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Walks Out When Pelosi Says No to Wall Funds” (front page, Jan. 10):
Much has been made of the fact that as a candidate Donald Trump promised repeatedly to build a border wall that Mexico would pay for. We should not forget, however, that he also claimed that nobody negotiated better deals than he did and that Americans would soon be winning so much that we would tire of winning.
Even someone who isn’t the world’s greatest negotiator can recognize that demanding “I want this much money to do something you oppose, I will accept no less and I will give up nothing in exchange” is, in general, a terrible negotiating strategy.
We have 800,000 federal workers either furloughed or working without pay, countless contractors put on hold, and millions of Americans already negatively affected by Mr. Trump’s petulant shutdown, all because the world’s self-proclaimed greatest negotiator is hung up on getting funding for a wall that he promised we wouldn’t have to pay for and most of us know we don’t need.
If this is winning, Mr. Trump is right: I’m tired of it.
Jonathan Maskit
Granville, Ohio
To the Editor:
When are the Democrats going to realize that President Trump’s wall has nothing to do with border security? Mr. Trump is first and foremost a builder; for him, a wall is the ultimate vanity project. Hadrian had his eponymous wall, and the Ming Dynasty emperors had their Great Wall of China.
He wants the world to look back across the ages in perpetuity and see his sinuous monolith snaking across the southwestern border, a potent symbol of his masculinity. Why not just let him build a giant monument to himself in the middle of the National Mall and be done with it?
David J. Anderson
Pasadena, Calif.
To the Editor:
At last the secret of President Trump’s legendary negotiating prowess has been revealed:
1. Ask your opponent if she is willing to cave in completely.
2. Slam hands down on table.
3. Stomp out of room.
Anthony M. Paul
Coral Gables, Fla.
To the Editor:
Frank Bruni’s column about the neediness and narcissism of President Trump is very well written and documented (“A Symbol of Trump’s Neediness,” Jan. 9). The question is: What to do? The leading Democrats are, in fact, playing his game by making not financing the wall a top priority. This is just as ridiculous as Mr. Trump’s stand. The Democrats should give in on the wall (or at least appear to) while making sure they gain something that really is a top priority.
Taking down a bully is not always the best idea; sometimes it’s much better to outmaneuver him, even if he then thinks he’s won and gloats about it.
Melinda Certain
Madison, Wis.
To the Editor:
Re “F.D.A. Suspends Most Safety Inspections of Food” (news article, Jan. 10):
Some 128,000 Americans are hospitalized and 3,000 die annually from food-borne illness. That’s with the Food and Drug Administration operating at full force. Now, because of the government shutdown, 41 percent of the agency’s workers are on furlough. We are one E. coli outbreak away from the clearest demonstration that the government shutdown that President Trump insists is necessary to achieve his goal of building a barrier along the Mexican border for the safety of our people is perversely having the opposite effect.
Bernard J. Kabak
New York
Source: Read Full Article