The Trump – Putin Helsinki Show

While Trump was credited to the ‘Art of the Deal’ along with journalist Tony Schwartz, references to which have left the global financial markets in sometimes bewilderment, some of the negotiation tactics seem to be more akin to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War than the Art of the Deal. The U.S President appearing to have finally decided that The Art of War may ultimately be a better reference point as he goes about his business alienating allies while embracing the enemy.

“If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperilled in a hundred battles; If you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperilled in every single battle,” is perhaps one of the more famous quotes, though Trump may have taken this from the Godfather Part II, where Michael Corleone said “My father taught me many things here – he taught me in this room. He taught me – keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

So, with the Helsinki mission complete, there has been plenty of noise since and, while Trump may look to refer to Sun Tzu or heaven forbid, Michael Corleone, the rest of the U.S administration, the Senate and U.S allies may have an altogether different take on Monday’s events.

It didn’t take long for House Speaker Paul Ryan to give his views, stating that the U.S must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy, adding that the President must appreciate that Russia is not an ally and remains hostile to the most basic values and ideals of the U.S.

From the press conference, there were a number of key takeaways that included:

• A common intent by both to improve Russia – U.S relations and develop a reasonable degree of trust.
• Trump failed to vilify Putin for Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, with both Trump and Putin agreeing that there had been no collusion in the election.
• The Russian President said that a working group of U.S and Russian businessmen will be put together.
• On Syria, there was clearly some discussion as had been anticipated, though no details were shared, Trump merely stating that the two nations could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the country, while Putin aired his concerns over the number of refugees that had been displaced.

Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2018

Clearly, the failure to address Russia’s meddling in the presidential election was the most troublesome, particularly when the investigative team, led by Robert Mueller, has just indicted 12 Russians on evidence of election meddling. Putin was kind enough to offer the investigating team with access to Moscow to clear any wrongdoing, though we can expect this to be staged if Mueller even decides to follow Trump down a very slippery slope.

On Syria, one shudders to think what had been discussed, particularly when considering Trump’s single desire to bring down the Iranian regime and at any cost. Time will tell, but if there is anyone more versed in the Art of War, it is probably the former KGB agent than U.S property mogul turned leader of the free world.

So all in all, while the U.S President alienates the EU and China and NATO members, he has to date, befriended Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, both of whom have, by various preceding Presidents of the United States, been referred to as public enemy number 1.

The Dollar retreat reflected the market’s view on the press conference and NATO members and the EU may well be wondering what’s next, perhaps Sun Tzu’s quotes need to be heeded by both and anyone else who has been on the receiving end of Trump’s Art of the Deal. As for China, well no doubt Chinese Premier Li is aware of ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu and his works.