Donald Trump has a purpose for everything he does. There are times that he does it out of spite or anger. In that sense, he is just like the rest. There are times, however, when he makes statements that seem to be outlandish until you read what he said.
Donald Trump gave a rare compliment to Barack Obama during an interview on CNN Tuesday. Note Trump’s words.
Trump has been one of Obama’s biggest critics. He famously questioned his legitimacy, doubting that he was even born in the United States. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Trump gave him one of the few compliments he had for him but immediately followed it up with a criticism.
“I like him, I think he is a very nice gentleman but he has been very, very weak in trade,” Trump said. “If you look at the trade situation in our country, it was a catastrophe.”
Take a look at Japan. He continued, “Take a look at China.” Take a look at some of these countries and what they did.
Trump has also praised Michelle Obama, the former First Lady.
He added, “But I like him.” “I respect both him and his wife.”
This statement, taken as a whole is a perfect example of a damning comment with faint praise. The only thing Trump forgot to add was a “bless his heart” at his end. But then, Trump comes from New York and not Texas. And that term isn’t used that way in New York.
While this was happening, the Obamas were slamming Donald Trump during the Democratic National Convention.
Barack Obama stated that Donald Trump views power as a tool to achieve his goals. “He wants to make the middle-class pay for another massive tax cut, which would mainly benefit him and his wealthy friends.”
He continued, “He does not seem to care that more women lose reproductive freedom because it will not affect his life.” Donald Trump wants to make us believe that the country is divided between us and others. This is one of the oldest political tricks, coming from someone whose act — let’s be honest — has gotten pretty old.
It’s interesting to see Trump taking the high road. Is his comment intended to calm down the Obamas who Trump knew were going to attack him at the convention?
Is Trump trying to make an unusually subtle point? Note the disclaimer. He criticizes Obama’s policies while calling him a “nice gentleman” when referring to his person.
You can like someone and disagree with them on politics. I have mentioned that one of the best friends I’ve ever had is a deep blue, East Coast urban liberal. We worked together on several consulting projects while I was in that business. We made a great team because we were both good at what we did. This is something that you cannot always rely on in corporate life. Felix Unger and Oscar Madison have been friends for 15 years. I admire his ability to create and implement compliance and quality management systems, but disagree with him on political issues.
But I honestly don’t believe that was what Donald Trump meant here. He didn’t use a soft response to turn away anger, either. It is worth noting that Trump used similar words to describe Obama during the 2017 transition. Trump also “cherished” the note Barack Obama sent him after Trump was inaugurated as president in 2017.
Trump is said to treasure Obama’s letter. According to a former Obama adviser and a White House official, Trump tried to call the former President on Inauguration Day to express his gratitude after reading the letter. His predecessor, who was on a family trip to California in the west, couldn’t answer the phone.
There is also an old saying that says to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.
Trump has done this throughout the campaign. He’s been focusing on policy and dialing down his tone. It’s not in his nature to always be able to do this. These comments are interesting, but how do they compare to Obamas’ slams of him on the DNC stage? This is a very interesting contrast and I think it’s deliberate. This statement in particular seems to have accomplished one thing, which is to confuse the legacy media. It’s worth it to do that every day, and twice on Sunday.
