Should-Read: Matthew Yglesias: Trump is going to be mad when he hears what his appointees think about the TPP
Should-Read: Matthew Yglesias: Trump is going to be mad when he hears what his appointees think about the TPP: “His top economic and foreign policy advisers love it (as do his other advisers)…
…Trump said that while NAFTA was “the worst trade deal in the history of the country,” the TPP was even worse, posing “the greatest danger yet” to American jobs and prosperity. “It’s a rape of our country,” he said at an Ohio rally. “It’s a harsh word, but that’s what it is — rape of our country.”… Given his strong feelings about the matter, one can only imagine how furious the president-elect is going to be when he finds out what some of the members of his Cabinet have said…. Secretary of defense… James Mattis… sign[ed] a letter to Congress endorsing the TPP…. Energy secretary Rick Perry, is also a TPP fan. “Perry has always supported free trade and its positive impact on economic growth and job creation,” spokesperson Travis Considine told Breitbart’s Alex Swoyer. “He believes America can achieve robust economic growth and job creation, similar to what has occurred in Texas, with trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”… Trump’s choice to lead the National Economic Council… Gary Cohn…. Ambassador to China… Terry Branstad…. Interior secretary… Ryan Zinke… HHS Secretary Tom Price… HUD Secretary Ben Carson… Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao… [Secretary of State] Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson….
The main takeaway here is not that Trump is going to secretly turn around and get the TPP ratified… [but] that… there is no revisionist populist economic policy…. Some of Trump’s picks seem unqualified for the specific job… or for any… job… but all share a fairly conventional conservative governing philosophy. The deeper issue is that Trump’s grab bag of policy stances makes for an awkward combination with this philosophy…. The world is a complicated place and navigating that complexity is a difficult task. Trump has proven that a total lack of demonstrated understanding of the policy issues facing the United States of America is less of a bar to winning votes than one might have thought. But the presidency is still a big job with enormous consequences, and the various contradictions and lurking time bombs in what we see of Trump’s governing agenda suggest that it won’t be done very well.