The Master Negotiator
by digby
Publicly, President Trump didn’t seem overjoyed when, earlier this month, he signed a $1 trillion bill to keep the government open. Privately, his mood was much, much worse.
Behind-the-scenes: When the spending bill had been negotiated and finalized, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus phoned the former House Speaker John Boehner and told him the president doesn’t like how the negotiation came out and is thinking about vetoing the bill. Boehner has told associates that Priebus asked him if he could talk Trump into signing the spending bill. Boehner said he would.
Ten minutes later, Boehner’s phone rang. It was the President. Boehner made a couple different arguments to Trump about why he should sign the spending bill:
- He told Trump he should be happy about the fact that he doesn’t have to give a dollar of domestic spending in exchange for increases in military spending. And he got a substantial boost in military spending.
- The most important argument Boehner made: the last thing you need right now is a government shutdown.
Why this matters: I’m not suggesting Boehner’s conversation with Trump was determinative. It’s telling, however, that the President hated the spending bill so much that his chief of staff felt the need to reach out to the former House Speaker
Trump was supposed to be the greatest negotiator in the history of the world. But apparently what he meant by that was that he wanted a showdown so he could prove his manhood. Of course.
He has said that he thinks we need a good government shutdown. It’s unclear whether he understands what that means or why he believes it is a good idea. But it’s telling that Priebus had to get him on the horn with John Boehner to convince him not to do it. It means there really isn’t anyone in the White House who can convince the president not to be a destructive fool. And truthfully, it’s looking as if there are very, very few who either know that’s what he’s doing or want to stop him if they do.
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