When Nixon courted China, he used diplomacy. Trump just throws tantrums: RW Johnson

Key topics:.Kissinger and Nixon's secretive approach to China contrasted with Trump's boldness.Trump's behaviour driven by ego, craving attention, and impulsive decision-making.Trump's tariffs could severely shrink global trade, risking economic turmoil.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By RW Johnson ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.It's instructive to read of how Kissinger and Nixon plotted their approach to China. Since the US had had no diplomatic relations with China since 1949 contact had to be made first via the Rumanians, then the Poles, then the Pakistanis until at last Nixon got a direct message from Premier Zhou En-lai saying that they could discuss handing Taiwan over to Beijing. Nixon replied that either side should be able to bring up whichever issues it wished. Thereafter messages went back and forth though always without letterheads or any sign of officialdom. In part this was to avoid all the barriers and difficulties presented by officialdom on either side. On the American side there was such a stress on getting official clearances before there could be any contact with China that Nixon angrily exclaimed that "They're going to kill this baby before it's born !".It was crucially important not to let the Russians or anyone else know of these contacts so Nixon's messages were delivered in person to the Chinese embassy in Islamabad. Finally, after many such contacts, Kissinger was invited to Beijing and once he was there the Chinese invited Nixon to come to Beijing without any preconditions. Nixon immediately accepted – the point at which, of course, the fact of contact had to become public..Contrast this with Trump's elephantine trumpeting of his intentions – to make Canada the 51st state, to take over the Panama canal, to take ownership of Greenland, using military force if necessary, or to inflict a new trade war upon the world. As Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, has pointed out, this is self-defeating. The Canadians have become hostile and determined, the Danes and Greenlanders too, and there is almost universal resentment at Trump's revision of an international trade system which was delivering pretty well for most countries, the US included. In no case will this bring Trump's objectives any closer..Imagine if Trump had gone about Greenland properly, first studying the problem, then increasing the number of US bases there (there used to be 17, now there's only one), get American companies to invest there and work at developing a congenial and respectful friendship with the Danes and locals. That would strengthen Arctic defence, give America access to the minerals and rare earths it wants, gain popularity for America and Greenland would become a sort of unofficial American protectorate. .The reason that Trump doesn't behave like that is because he is essentially a big child. He has the frantic and insatiable need for attention of a three year old. And he wants to impose himself on situations by wielding a big stick and making threats not only because that's the quickest way of securing attention and compliance but he clearly loves the image of himself as a Schwarzenegger-style super-hero who always gets his way. .These traits were apparent long before he became President – think of how he continually sought the attention of the New York tabloids, often ringing them up posing as other people so he could give them a scoop about Trump's love-life or similarly juvenile concerns which any normal adult would have kept to themselves. In fact, as we know, he is nobody's super-hero and went to extreme lengths to avoid military service. He puts himself across as a fabulously successful businessman but he inherited his wealth, he has gone bankrupt on numerous occasions and has left a litter of failed institutions (remember Trump University ?) in his wake. .Trump's ego is such that he has to be seen as a winner – never a loser – and one bathed in continuous adulation. Even in 2016 he insisted throughout his campaign that if he lost it would only be because the Democrats had cheated and stolen the election – the same story he used when he lost in 2020. And for the past eight years he has never ceased to hold mass rallies – not so much to gather support but so that he can luxuriate in the adoration of his true believers. His inauguration in 2016 was poorly attended but he insisted that there were all-time record crowds – because his self-image required that to be true. At his inauguration in 2025 he was furious that flags were at half-mast in honour of the late Jimmy Carter and tried (though he failed) to have that reversed. These are the desperate attempts at self-glorification of an over- needy child..Any day you like you can switch on CNN and see Trump talking off the top of his head about whatever comes to his very short attention-span. This is because Trump is endlessly hungry for media attention and thus welcomes the TV cameras on any and every day. Even when he meets foreign heads of government or other visiting dignitaries, it's all on TV – there are no private talks. When he decided to bully Zelensky, even that had to be on live TV. Clearly, in his mind that's what a President does – he sits on a sort of throne or at his desk and performs for the cameras. It's a child's view of the Presidency..And he knows that if he is to hold people's attention despite this huge over-exposure, he has to entertain them – he has to perform. Hence the constant flow of outrageous statements and provocations – the threats to bomb Iran, to turn Gaza into a beach resort, his wild attacks on judges he doesn't like, his playing about with the notion of being a king, his talk of running for an unconstitutional third term, and so on. One should not forget that he was so desperate for attention that he actually had (false) covers of Time magazine made and framed with his face on the cover as Man of the Year. A child he may be, but no ordinary child..A final point is that Trump judges countries entirely by their leaders and how he reacts with them. He assumes that if he gets on well with a foreign leader that that leader's country is an ally, irrespective of the fact that that country may have national interests which clash with America's. Conversely, he didn't like Justin Trudeau which biased him against Canada. This too is a child's way of interpreting international relations..However, Trump was duly elected and the world has to put up with him for the next four years. We are saddled with a malevolent child. And like any child, Trump is ignorant. He was well into his first presidential term when he first discovered that Abraham Lincoln had been a Republican, although Lincoln is the party's proudest son. He frequently mixes countries up. He's never heard of Lesotho. His spelling is very poor. And so on. .But the most worrying thing is his ignorance of economics. As Michael Strain of the (conservative) American Enterprise Institute puts it: "We are seeing a combination of true-believing mercantilism, shocking ignorance about how the global economy works, and shocking incompetence in the planning and execution of economic policy." .Trump clearly doesn't know that the introduction of the Smoot-Hawley tariff regime helped create the Great Depression in the 1930s, so he has cheerfully gone ahead enacting his own version of Smoot-Hawley. Ever since that dreadful experience economics students around the world have learned that the most important single figure in economics relates to world trade. Essentially, provided world trade keeps growing there should be no international depression. But if we ever see that world trade is shrinking, not growing, then woe betide us..The Financial Times has modeled Trump's tariffs. If Trump imposes his promised 25% tariffs, Mexico's exports fall by 25.6%, Canada's by 20.4% and the US's by 20.7%. China's exports also fall, though by very little. If those countries retaliate reciprocally, America's exports fall by 30.2%, Canada's by 34.2% and Mexico's by 37.7%. If Trump also slams tariffs on the EU, Ireland is the worst hit. If the EU retaliates, US exports fall by 43.1%. These are horrific figures and they guarantee a considerable shrinkage in total world trade. There are already many alarming sides to Trump Mk II – his casual breaking of the law, his disregard for the constitution, his revenge tactics against universities and law firms – but the figures above are by far the most alarming..Read also:.John Matisonn – GNU furore unveils a 'silver lining' for SA's economic revivalTrump's tariff policy is "straightforwardly bad" for US markets and economy: Jonathan LevinMailbox: What it means to be an Afrikaner in post-Apartheid South Africa – Marcel Nel

When Nixon courted China, he used diplomacy. Trump just throws tantrums: RW Johnson

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