I just finished reading an AP article that discusses President Trump's basic policy as being to "go big". According to the AP, Trump is always swinging for home runs unlike the singles and occasional double that Obama went for. (Of course, the AP ignores the many times Obama struck out, but that's another story.) The AP says that Trumps penchant to go big has big rewards, but it can also cause big failures. Here are the examples the AP offers:
His push to overturn Obama’s landmark health care law ended in a humiliating defeat for the Republicans. His decision to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has left global markets in a state of flux and unnerved some of America’s closest allies about the potential for a trade war. And his withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, with strong support from Israel, has escalated tensions in the already volatile region.
It's pretty funny. Obamacare survived, but the Individual Mandate is now gone. We will see what next year brings. As for the tariffs on steel and aluminum, the jury is clearly still out. Remember all those people who were unnerved by Trump's strategy of calling Kim Jung Un "Little Rocket Man"? That didn't make his strategy bad; it just meant that there were a lot of nervous people who mouthed off a great deal of the time. That's where the tariffs are right now.
As for the Iran nuclear agreement, it's way too soon for the AP to decide that this is a failure. The USA withdrew two days ago. We need to see if the Trump Administration can use American leverage to get the Europeans to reinstate the full measure of sanctions on the Iranians. Even an 75% return will bring the Iranians back to their knees. And then there are the persistent rumors that the USA is helping anti-regime forces in Iran. There's no way to know if that is true, but it must be giving the mullahs nightmares of crowds coming for them in the middle of the night. It surely is not a failed policy despite what the AP says.
His push to overturn Obama’s landmark health care law ended in a humiliating defeat for the Republicans. His decision to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has left global markets in a state of flux and unnerved some of America’s closest allies about the potential for a trade war. And his withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, with strong support from Israel, has escalated tensions in the already volatile region.
It's pretty funny. Obamacare survived, but the Individual Mandate is now gone. We will see what next year brings. As for the tariffs on steel and aluminum, the jury is clearly still out. Remember all those people who were unnerved by Trump's strategy of calling Kim Jung Un "Little Rocket Man"? That didn't make his strategy bad; it just meant that there were a lot of nervous people who mouthed off a great deal of the time. That's where the tariffs are right now.
As for the Iran nuclear agreement, it's way too soon for the AP to decide that this is a failure. The USA withdrew two days ago. We need to see if the Trump Administration can use American leverage to get the Europeans to reinstate the full measure of sanctions on the Iranians. Even an 75% return will bring the Iranians back to their knees. And then there are the persistent rumors that the USA is helping anti-regime forces in Iran. There's no way to know if that is true, but it must be giving the mullahs nightmares of crowds coming for them in the middle of the night. It surely is not a failed policy despite what the AP says.
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