Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ trumps ‘the science’

Trump's art of the deal trumps the science.

Being on the receiving end of a deal with the most powerful person in the world must be quite disarming. Trump was already the ultimate deal-maker. Now as the leader of the free world, his power to make deals is unsurpassed in history. When Trump offers a deal, he starts with an extreme position that drives the experts mad. This is not crazy; it is the art of the deal.

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

Michael de Percy says we should trust the ‘art of the deal’ over ‘the science’ when it comes to politics. After all, Michael argues, Trump has done more in two months than the experts have in years – which means there must be some wisdom to his actions.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

As a political scientist, Michael de Percy is a great admirer of how Donald Trump is doing things, Trump upending all he sees as America’s enemies, both foreign and domestic. De Percy argues that Trump’s love of transactional deal-making, er, trumps evidence-based policy advocated by self-appointed experts. ‘Trump’s art of the deal is the most democratic thing we have seen since “the experts” told us to trust “the science”’, he writes. Some will agree; some will disagree. Certainly, Trump 47’s approach to policy-making and governing is unique. There’s been nothing like him before, and there’ll be nothing like him again.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ trumps ‘the science’.

When one observes Trump, one is not observing science, but art.

No expert can tell you what Trump is doing, nor predict the outcome. Trump himself might struggle to tell you how he came to know what he is doing.

He has done in less than two months what thousands of experts… pic.twitter.com/FGwvpsXOKH

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 10, 2025

Can the green energy dream power Australia's future industries?

Australia's green hydrogen dream is rapidly coming undone

 

Australia's energy policy for heavy industries such as steel production are based on storing renewable energy as green hydrogen. However, steel production is energy intensive and green hydrogen is proving to be difficult to commercialise, let alone produce, store, and transport. The renewable energy link to Indonesia and Singapore, based on the plan for the Australian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara, has been replaced by the idea that green hydrogen can be converted to green ammonia for transportation, and converted back to hydrogen on the other side. Again, the process is energy intensive. Add to the energy demands that will be created by data centres and artificial intelligence, the scaling up of energy production is unlikely to be met without nuclear. The green energy dream is unlikely to materialise and is proving unworkable.

The slides from my presentation are available below.

Woke West stands with Ukraine, Trump deals with reality

Trump's diplomacy is based on realpolitik, not idealpolitik.

The rules-based world order has been destroyed by the Wokerati. The United Nations, an institution designed to address the shortcomings of the League of Nations, is exhausted and no longer fit for purpose. Nato is an under-funded paper tiger. The United States, still the richest and most powerful nation in the history of humanity, is quickly recovering from its near-death experience under the Democrats and their self-hating and divisive ideology. Meanwhile, the rest of the West dithers.

Trump’s attempt to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war is based on realpolitik, taking into account the actual circumstances rather than adopting a particular moral stance. Against this backdrop, the rest of the West, which is largely broke and unable to defend itself, has based its response on idealpolitik, a belief that ideals can be achieved through politics. In practice, Trump’s approach is based on reason, while the rest of the West’s response to global affairs is naively based on emotion.

It’s not hard to tell how this will work out.

Writing in the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes had this to say:

As Trump freezes all military aid to Ukraine in retaliation against Zelensky’s perceived recalcitrance, making the likelihood of a ‘final push’ Russian spring offensive still greater, Rebecca Weisser has a timely piece looking at the good, the bad and the ugly of Trump’s domestic and foreign policy. As for that foreign policy, she says (but I summarise) there’s no theory, just chaos. Michael de Percy takes a contrary view, and argues that Western leaders, including Anthony Albanese, take an idealistic and anti-Trump view of Zelensky and Ukraine, while Trump plays a realist and calculated political chess game. Ramesh Thakur outlines the alleged rap sheet against Zelensky and Ukraine, while echoing de Percy’s policy argument and endorsing Trump’s actions, as he sees them.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Woke West stands with Ukraine, Trump deals with reality.

Trump’s attempt to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war is based on realpolitik, taking into account the actual circumstances rather than adopting a particular moral stance.

Trump's approach is based on reason. The West's is founded on emotion.https://t.co/ekz2kossdX

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 4, 2025