What exactly is Trump up to?

Etler, a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks after Trump said there is no need to rush the denuclearization of North Korea as he prepares to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the second time next week.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his plans to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear program but said he wouldn’t force anything upon Kim as long as he puts the brakes on his nuclear tests.

“I’m in no rush, as long as there’s no testing, I’m in no rush. If there’s testing, that’s another deal. But there has been no testing.” he said. “I’d just like to see ultimately denuclearization of North Korea.”

Professor said Etler said, “The headline blares, ‘Trump says 'in no rush’ to denuclearize North Korea as 2nd Kim summit nears.’ And his tweets lionize Chairman Kim Jong-un of the DPRK, declaring ‘how capable he is’ and ‘that North Korea will become a different kind of Rocket - an Economic one!’ Meanwhile he continues to apply economic sanctions on the North and pressure on the South to take on more of the burden of US troop deployments.”

“Elsewhere, Trump wants to put his ‘trade war’ against China on the back burner while continuing to take an aggressive military stance in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, both areas of vital national interest for the People’s Republic,” he stated.

“As regards Russia, he praises Putin while withdrawing from the IMF treaty. In the Middle East he apologizes for the murderous Saudi Arabian regime while demonizing Iran,” he added.

“It all seems contradictory and difficult to understand. What exactly is Trump up to? Is there any logic to his actions? The answer is both yes and no. To explain his actions it must be realized that Trump is not driven by ideology. All he’s concerned with is obtaining and maintaining power and rewarding his benefactors,” the analyst noted.

‘Trump panders to his base’
“In order to do that Trump panders to his base of reality TV and tabloid news addicts. The two established parties are so discredited that a significant portion of the US electorate responded to Trump’s demagogic appeals to racism, xenophobia and protectionism. The problem for Trump is that the policies which energized his base don’t play well in the real world and they create enough blowback to severely damage their material self-interests. To prevent any erosion to his base Trump needs to create imaginary victories to rationalize his failed policies. So, he abandons his original blow-hard rhetoric and reaches a modus vivendi with his erstwhile foreign adversaries,” he said.  

“But, that’s only part of the story. The rest of Trump’s foreign policy revolves around rewarding his Russian, Saudi and Zionist benefactors. Trump survived as a business man only by infusions of money from Russian oligarchs, Saudi Arabian autocrats and Zionist plutocrats.  The problem he faces is the deep-seated Russophobia of the US political establishment which Trump appeases by allowing Russia to continue to be targeted by neocons he has embedded in his administration. This also explains his animosity towards Iran, which is meant to reward his benefactors in Israel and Saudi Arabia,” he said.

“The bottom line is not to expect any consistency in Trump’s policies. He is a master of sleight of hand, a skill that charlatans must master to make a living. He’ll do whatever he deems necessary to maintain himself in power without regard for anything but his self-interest,” he concluded.