President TACO’s Double Standard for Superpowers: Putin Gets 200-Day Free Ride, Xi Endless Extensions

President Trump has just extended trade negotiations with China for another 90 days since he can’t get them to agree to his “art of the deal,” and Russia and Putin are now enjoying a 200-day-plus free ride to do what they want in Ukraine.

The term TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out — was first used in his tariff negotiations, where his “art of the deal” has been tried and tested to mixed results.

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Now, recall how Trump the Candidate promised to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours.

Gee, that clock stopped ticking six months ago. Now, while continuing to threaten Putin with sanctions if he doesn’t come to the peace table, Trump has withdrawn his last deadline of “seven to ten days” before sanctions kick in. Instead, he will meet Putin in Alaska on Friday.

And what do you think will happen? There will be post-summit waffling and another TACO-like extension of potential sanctions against Putin and Russia.

I think it’s becoming clear that the art of the deal: 1) doesn’t work with Superpowers, and 2) because it doesn’t, it results in endless extensions and delays.

Now, if I were a betting man (or indeed, had anything to bet with), I’d put down my money that nothing, nada, zero, zilch will come out of the Alaska Summit except empty rhetoric and further extensions, while Putin just ramps up his campaign in Ukraine.

Remember, in Trump’s logic, this war never would have started had he been re-elected in 2020, so he’s pretty much already distanced himself from the grisly Russian annexation of Ukraine.

I hope I’m wrong, but we’ll all know Friday … or Saturday if there’s real obfuscation going on.