Art of dealing with Trump

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

To the relief of expats, visitors, experts and veteran Korea watchers, Yonhap News reported on Nov. 10 that in a 10-minute phone call with South Korean president Park Geun-hye: "Trump says U.S. will remain ‘steadfast, strong' in defending against NK."

Hold off on the celebration. In political speak, Trump's words would literally mean the status quo remains unchanged. To Trump the businessman, political status quo probably means "the mess others got us into." Korea watchers are likely to be disappointed when Trump hits Korea like a new version of MERS.

Trump's critics don't want to hear it, but my suggestion: Make deals, not war, with Trump. He has blamed politicians for making the "worst deals ever," so he is unlikely to leave current agreements in place without at least a skeptical review. He wants new deals.

Trump has already told us, in his book "The Art of the Deal," how he negotiates. He takes the extreme position of what he wants, and then he negotiates from there. As a first-time candidate, he did the same thing. He wouldn't just slow immigration from Mexico. He would build "a great wall." Like him or not, change will be on the way, not just as a platitude in a speech.

Do South Koreans want the U.S. troops to remain in South Korea? Show Trump why it would benefit the U.S. going forward. It won't mean that South Korea will have to pay all costs to support the U.S. troops. Under President Trump, however, I bet South Korea will end up paying more, or will have to present a great explanation why the alliance or other agreements must continue as is. He will seek to make those changes from the beginning, rather than operating on what he considers to be bad terms.

Are immigration activists worried about Trump's comments about blocking Muslims from immigrating temporarily or deporting illegal aliens? Make him a deal, not emotional condemnation or non-negotiable moral proclamations. If Trump suggests a one year moratorium, then activists will have the choice to condemn or make a counter-offer.

I know his critics don't want to hear it, but he has already beaten the odds, checkmating a coalition that included former presidents (Bill Clinton actively campaigning and both Bushes refraining from supporting Trump), the current president (Barack Obama) mocking him and also suggesting Trump was the KKK's candidate, #NeverTrump conservative commentators, the Republican political establishment, 16 other Republicans who ran for president and the mainstream media led by the New York Times and Washington Post. He overcame October surprises about his taxes, alleged assaults of women and his decades of acerbic comments. He even overcame his own rabid 3 a.m. Twitter rants.

The only thing more amazing has been the response to his victory. Riots. Politically organized opponents who don't know the difference between a democracy and a republic are seeking to lobby electors who will officially vote on Dec. 19 to change their votes from Trump to Clinton. Students have reported being unable to sleep. College professors at Harvard, Yale and other universities canceled classes and exams and others have sought counseling to deal with the reality of Trump winning.

Media, pollsters and commentators who predicted a landslide Clinton victory have been navel-gazing at why they were so wrong. Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post broke down crying during a TV interview. Neal Gabler, who was probably shedding tears on his laptop computer, whined that "America died on Nov. 8, 2016."

No, America didn't die. Gabler's candidate lost an election. At some point, the criers and deniers will recognize the reality of Trump's victory had more to do with his inept opponent, angry critics feeding his campaign's fire and Trump's businessman style.

Trump, for all of his bluster, received about the same number of votes as Obama's two vanquished opponents did (Senator John McCain and Governor Mitt Romney). Clinton's missing emails, revelations from Wikileaks, apparent "pay to play" through the Clinton Family Foundation and long-term perceived dishonesty made her vulnerable to the FBI's October surprise. She failed to galvanize votes, receiving almost 10 million fewer votes than Obama did in 2008. She has learned at the end of her political career the truth of what Bill Clinton used to say: "You can't beat something with nothing."

His critics won't like it, but as president, Trump is dealing from the ultimate position of strength. His critics now have the choice of negotiating, condemning, or watching him try to implement his extreme positions. He has conquered the business world, with his name on tall buildings around the world, and now he has reached the pinnacle of the political world. People who thought he would lose in a landslide defeat in his transition might not want to underestimate him again.

Casey Lartigue Jr. is the co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) in Seoul. He can be reached at CJL@post.harvard.edu