Storella Interviewed by Toronto Star on Trump Negotiating Behavior
Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy Mark Storella told the Toronto Star, “I’m afraid all of our partners are scrambling to try to understand how to deal with (Trump) based on his psychology and his personal predilections.”
Ambassador Storella, who teaches international negotiation at the Pardee School, said President Trump approaches every negotiation as a fresh, one-off zero-sum game, with a winner and a loser and no banked trust for future negotiations.
Storella said that various world leaders have tried bringing Trump shiny gifts and flattery: “He loves the puffery and the pomp and circumstance of very powerful people.” And he respects strengths and exploits weaknesses.
Key allied leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had tried to prepare the path for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous Oval Office meeting with Trump with examples of lavish buttering up. But a proud and embattled Zelensky did not follow their models. Storella concluded, “I tell my students that it’s completely acceptable to offend somebody in a successful negotiation if that is your intention. But you should not do it unintentionally.”
With Trump, such missteps can be fatal.
You can read the full article here.