President Trump is predicting that a deal with Iran, in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), will definitely be signed tomorrow, June 14, on his 80th birthday. Iran, however, says it may be signed sometime soon, but not tomorrow.
Now, we can chalk up Trump’s never-ending “deal tomorrow” predictions to the intransigence of the Iranian leaders, or we can chalk it up to Trump’s art-of-the-deal reliance on “truthful hyperbole.”
In his book, “Art of the Deal,” Sir Donald explains: “People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole.” (See my recent post for more details on Trump’s negotiating techniques.)
Yes, indeed, we all want to believe that the major portion of this ill-conceived war is coming to an end, and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and operate as it was before the war. However, here too, if I read Iran’s statements correctly, the Iranians are now claiming they and they alone have the power to control passage through the strait.
Anyway, tomorrow ain’t far off, so I guess we’ll all know by Sunday this time, or earlier.
Final thought: It appears that Trump’s hyperbolic negotiating style works best outside of the public glare — and constant examination and commentary by the “Fake News” media. To most of us, it still looks like Iran is playing our president for a fool and getting away with it.
