The thing about Trump, and the US now more generally, is how can you negotiate or enter into agreements with a country that is so fickle and mercurial?

Posted on August 14, 2026 at 02:04:21 PM by Alpo

Friend or foe, it doesn't matter -- there is no respect for previous agreements or commitments, no detailed negotiations over complex matters like trade policy or mutual defense, policy is made at 2AM by a megalomaniac whose opinions shift with the wind and has no filter between his geriatric brain and stubby little fingers. How can you agree to anything longer than a week or so when there's a good chance he will just tear it all up a few days later when he gets some bad press about whatever it is he did.

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The thing about Trump, and the US now more generally, is how can you negotiate or enter into agreements with a country that is so fickle and mercurial? - By Alpo August 14, 2026 at 02:04:21 PM
- As far as Canada goes I'd say it's comparable to a spouse having an affair, the trust will never again be 100%* - By Connollywasthere August 14, 2026 at 08:12:19 PM
- We are all on the decoy plane* - By Cincywolve August 14, 2026 at 03:16:39 PM
  - Indeed we are, lol.* - By Ev August 14, 2026 at 03:29:30 PM
- "we cannot leave the security of Europe in the hands of voters in Wisconsin every 4 years" * - By BlueMoose1 August 14, 2026 at 03:07:27 PM
- Trump has altered the landscape of world politics forever. The US will no longer be the preeminent nation on earth... ... - By FleetwoodDiner August 14, 2026 at 02:55:28 PM
  - Addendum, that begs the question of who will take our place... - By FleetwoodDiner August 14, 2026 at 03:17:57 PM
    - "Europe" doesn't want the responsibility or the expense. In the absence of American leadership the vacuum will be filled by China. BUt we are still a long way from that.* - By Alpo August 14, 2026 at 03:30:18 PM
- I think the US will come back quickly to its - By jhamm August 14, 2026 at 02:27:25 PM
- This was known in 2016 when Trump tore the nuclear deal with Iran.* - By crumbs August 14, 2026 at 02:27:25 PM
- And that credibility isn’t just going to immediately return… - By Craig August 14, 2026 at 02:21:20 PM
  - Exactly. It’s the same dynamic as regaining someone’s trust after violating it repeatedly, or rebuilding a solid GPA, credit score, or physically healthy body after tossing it into the shitter, except on the macro geopolitical level.* - By LKLIII August 14, 2026 at 02:27:45 PM
    - Or reconciling with a domestic abuser*** - By Cincywolve August 14, 2026 at 03:42:46 PM
- That’s absolutely right. Broader view; how can you negotiate with a country that could elect a guy like that? - By brick August 14, 2026 at 02:08:50 PM
  - We're done as superpower. It'll take a little while, but if AI doesn't wipe us out first, we've begun a slow steady decline that can never be reverse post-Trump* - By Poster P August 14, 2026 at 02:25:24 PM
  - I remember saying to my parents on election night 2024: this says a lot about our country, none of it good.* - By Bender August 14, 2026 at 02:19:17 PM
  - I mean *he* negotiated the USMCA! It was the greatest deal ever! Seven years later he basically incinerates it and says it was terrible! It's bonkers.* - By Alpo August 14, 2026 at 02:17:32 PM
    - That’s right. It wasn’t President Data Nerd, it was Trump himself. And he bashed the USMCA in the 2024 campaign - By brick August 14, 2026 at 02:27:51 PM
  - This is the real problem - US is a broken country* - By syrfan August 14, 2026 at 02:10:14 PM
    - "How did you go bankrupt?" Bill asked. "Two ways," Mike said. "Gradually and then suddenly." ~Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises.* - By LKLIII August 14, 2026 at 02:15:21 PM
      - Easily and frequently. - Trump* - By jjwalker August 14, 2026 at 02:18:34 PM
        
        LOL.* - By LKLIII August 14, 2026 at 02:24:19 PM
      - Or, put a different way:(m)(image) - By LKLIII August 14, 2026 at 02:18:11 PM
- Trump has ended the US as a great nation* - By Rich August 14, 2026 at 02:06:56 PM

The Victors

The thing about Trump, and the US now more generally, is how can you negotiate or enter into agreements with a country that is so fickle and mercurial?