Trump’s ‘art of the deal’

Did U.S. President Donald Trump follow negotiation tactics and deal making principles that he emphasized in a number of his books during a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, billed as “the meeting of the century”?

In The Art of the Deal, the number one of 11 winning negotiation tactics listed is “Think big.” Trump also stressed the importance of thinking big no matter what you do, in his book Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life. Trump certainly showed his big thinking attitude to the world as he clearly demonstrated by his unprecedented move, or the first-ever summit between sitting American and North Korean leaders.

In Trump 101: The Way to Success, he advised “not to restrict yourself just for expectations” in Chapter 11 about winning negotiation tactics. “Be more flexible in your approach when negotiating,” he wrote. “To yield successful results, the best negotiators sometimes shift gears and become chameleons.”

In Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success, he suggested making the other side lose his or her composure to a certain degree, as the top winning strategy. On May 24, Trump had abruptly cancelled the planned summit by sending and disclosing an official letter to North Korea, but after the face-to-face meeting with Kim, the U.S. president called his counterpart “very smart.” So, if it is a part of an intense psychological warfare, it would be interesting to see what will come out.

In Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again, he perceived the president as the ultimate negotiator and dealmaker for the nation. Indeed, in an attempt to lessen American burden for denuclearization, he spoke about transferring costs to South Korea and Japan right after the summit in Singapore. In his press conference lasted more than an hour, Trump touted successful outcomes of the meeting by implementing one of his business tactics “use media.”


Ja-Ryong Koo bonhong@donga.com