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The 2013 Trump Was a Lot Better on Trade Than the 2016 Version | U.S. Chamber of Commerce

We are now closer to having an economic community in the best sense of the term -- we work with each other for the benefit of all. I think we've all become aware of the fact that our cultures and economics are intertwined. It's a complex mosaic that cannot be approached with a simple formula for the correct pattern to emerge. In many ways, we are in unchartered waters. The good news, in one respect, is that what is done affects us all. There won't be any winners or losers as this is not a competition. It's a time for working together for the best of all involved. Never before has the phrase "we're all in this together" had more resonance or relevance.

The case against esoteric Trumpism

But the esoteric case for Trump is only possible because Trump is so obviously a buffoon, a bluffer, a kind of living cartoon. The only way people with a certain kind of dignity or intelligence can convince themselves that he would make a worthy president is through an elaborate form of self-delusion. The esoteric case for Trump is just that, a form of hypnosis.