Trump must learn the art of managing expectations



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AAs for the negotiations, it has been a difficult week for President Trump. On Wednesday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said an agreement with China was not as close as Trump had claimed. Less than 24 hours later, the denuclearization talks with North Korea broke down following the failure of Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who did not even reach an agreement .

Both were major publicity stunts for the president, in part because of his great rhetoric promising quick agreements and great progress. After all, the management of expectations must be part of a clever agreement.

And unrealistic expectations were clearly displayed in Hanoi. The talks collapsed after Trump declared that he had not been able to convince Kim to support a complete denuclearization. Although it should not have been surprising given the stalled negotiations between the summit negotiations, it was far from what Trump had clearly expected. Partly because of this misplaced optimism, Trump gave his supporters the impression that an imminent agreement was creating great expectations that were not grounded in reality.

A similar pattern emerges with trade negotiations with China, but without the major stakes of nuclear war or the media fireworks of broken negotiations.

On Wednesday, while the former presidential attorney was testifying before the House 's oversight committee, Lighthizer was on Capitol Hill to warn that the much – discussed trade agreement between Trump and China is not going to show up. was perhaps not so close to his agreement.

Speaking to the House Ways and Means Committee, Lighthizer explained, "Let's be clear: there is still a lot of work to be done before reaching an agreement and, most importantly, after, if an agreement has been reached."

This cautious speech is far from Trump's recent rhetoric that the United States and China were "very, very close" to reaching an agreement.

This is not just a PR council for the president. In either case, the mismatch between reality and expectations undermines public trust. Promising the world tomorrow and delivering only delays tarnishes the country's structure a little.

Needless to say, missed negotiations or significant delays do not mean that agreements can not or will not be reached, but that they will take much longer than Trump has repeatedly promised. For these ongoing agreements and negotiations to be successful, let alone the political victories on which Trump counts, he must present a realistic picture of what is actually possible and when. And, if it had done so since the beginning, this week might not have been so hard on its goals.

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