Looking for an angle on the best
way of handling Trump? Look north. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s got
the right idea.
Trudeau started by outmatching
Trump during the president’s bully handshake encounter, then he played the pal
card by giving him the tools to gracefully accept a change in a negotiating
position.
That’s how you handle a bully,
of course. You coax him, do your best Jiminy Cricket imitation, as in, “Here’s
how you should think about this, sir” kinda thing, and then allow him (the
bully) to take credit for the idea.
Here’s how Justin puts in a
recent cover piece in Bloomberg Businessweek:
“I’ve learned that (Trump)
listens. He is a little bit unlike many politicians. That might be enough.
Leave that sentence right there. As politicians, we’re very, very much trained
to say something and stick with it.
Whereas (Trump) has shown that if he
says one thing and then actually hears good counterarguments or good reasons
why he should shift his position, he will take a different position, if it’s a
better one, if the arguments win him over.
There’s a challenge in that for
electors. But there’s also an opportunity for people who engage with him to try
and work to achieve a beneficial outcome.”
Here’s a suggested daily
political diet for the rest of the summer.
Read two stories about Trump,
then one story about Trudeau.
Next, get to the beach and read a
novel.
Next: Running for Your Life: On Vacation
