The Art of Rejecting the Deal

In The Art of the Deal, President Donald Trump reveals what he called the “Trump Cards” that enabled him to win the large majority of his contractual ventures. Trump has been duly mocked by the Liberal press for not understanding the game of UNO behind the AI image of him holding all the cards. 

Even if UNO is won by the player who gets rid of their cards first, the image is sui generis, works vividly on its own, and is pure Trump. The rules of the game Trump is really playing are, in his words from his book, reasonably simple:

Naturally, it goes without saying that the character of the “Dealer” must be strong, confident, enormously skillful, determined, and “playful.” He must truly enjoy the game, the element of theater involved in the transaction. He must “have fun,” regardless of the stakes. In other words, someone like Trump.

In the fraught standoff with the Islamic Republic of Iran, one detects the range of Trump’s winning paradigms in action. In particular, the president obviously thinks big, maximizes his options at will, delivers the goods in spades, and enjoys the performance, the way a true warrior enjoys battle. His use of “truthful hyperbole” — “an innocent form of exaggeration, and a very effective form of promotion” — is quite evident. The one card that is missing from the list is plain: how to make a deal by not making a deal.

The art of rejecting the deal is comparatively easy for someone who knows his mind, has the cards he needs, and understands how to back his opponent into a corner. For such a person, his bottom line is actually his top line with nothing in between. In the Iran case, we note that Trump has rejected four IRGC proposals since the nuclear demand on which Trump adamantly insists is either not mentioned or deferred in the enemy’s proposals. Where compromise is possible, an agreement can be worked out; where not, the art of rejecting an arrangement depends on clarity, fortitude, and subliminal calculations.

Interestingly, it has been pointed out by TBN commentator Mati Shoshani that even if the Iranian rogue representatives were to surrender their lode of enriched uranium, they would still possess the requisite knowledge to begin assembling a nuclear option in the course of time. The “uranium dust,” so to speak, is in their heads and, short of an enforced and multiple lobotomy, cannot be surrendered. They would also be prepared to receive materials from allies like Russia and China. That is why a negotiated solution like surrendering its nuclear stock is a non-starter. It would not resolve the dilemma but only prolong it indefinitely

The only way to prevent the Islamic Republic from achieving nuclear capability is the elimination of the IRGC and installing precisely what has been waived aside, namely, “regime change” to a democratic and peaceful administration, likely under the leadership of the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. The “new” nation would be closely tied to its benefactor, the United States, and would agree to strict, atomic institutional supervision. This is, or should be, the end game, the fundamental reason for rejecting the deal, denying a radical and terrorist country the means to a nuclear strategy, creating a staunch geopolitical partner in its stead, and thus bringing the art of the deal to a successful conclusion. There is no logical alternative.

The Daily Mail has just run an article indicating that Trump is indeed envisaging a deal opening the Strait of Hormuz and removing enriched uranium from the country, backed by the threat of renewed hostilities. But it bristles with Obama-like concessions, the lifting of sanctions and the release of billions in frozen Iranian funds. The murderous regime would remain in place with the knowledge and connections to build up a nuclear arsenal unless the citizens of Iran, the “Immortal Guard” as they are known, would once again rise up. This is by no means guaranteed or given results. Refusing to ply the art of rejecting the deal with a bloodthirsty, theocratic, and tyrannical power whose diplomatic tactics are based on legitimate lying or Islamic taqiyya would be a mistake of catastrophic proportions. 

If Trump does not recognize the genuine stakes that are at play, then he really is holding UNO cards. 

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