Ignore all the blather about the 'Art of the Deal' - why is Donald Trump in real life actually such a terrible dealmaker? And if that's the case, how did he establish a reputation for being good in business, to the extent where in 2016 a majority of the American public believed it to be true? In this video we look at the key aspects that the professionals say makes for a good negotiator, and observe how Trump fails on all of them. Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week for Friday May 29th 2026 - President Trump is touting how close the US and Iran now are to the final deal. Well, let's not get too excited. A Russian drone injures two in NATO alliance member Romania and it highlights how difficult responding to grey area provocations by Putin is going to be. And the last month - and the coming year - are likely to see outlier hot weather thanks to climate change and an unusually strong El Nino - so why was Trump saying it had just all been proven to be wrong?

The US needs all the allies it can get amongst the gulf states, you would think. And yet yesterday, President Donald Trump casually threatened to bomb one of the most longstanding ones - Oman - if they dared to do some sort of deal with Iran over managing traffic that traverses the Strait of Hormuz. Add to that the lack of momentum and energy that represents Trump's previous initiative, the Board of Peace - and the Gaza problem it was supposed to resolve. And add to that the fact that both Ukraine and Russia have concluded that, should negotiations between them start up in a more serious tone, the US is NOT the mediating partner they want. It seems that the entire world is increasingly turning away from the spectacle of Trump, as it seeks serious partners and equally serious ways forward to address their all-too-serious problems. Let's discuss.

One minute, President Donald Trump is breathlessly announcing to the world that a deal is on the verge of being signed - the next he is in full pace retreat as the details begin to leak out, and so many people conclude that it is an incredibly weak deal for the United States. So having thought he was about to escape his predicament, he is right back in the mess. As a result, the US attacked Iranian operations. Trump attacked the media. None of it is getting him out of a trap very much of his own making. Let's discuss.

Artificial Intelligence is, by its very nature, a transformative technology. But right now, it seems to be being driven by characters who are happy to set themselves up in messianic roles, to embrace the idea of creative destruction without regard for who and what gets destroyed. It's the sort of situation where smart, enlightened government might take a part. Not so, says President Donald Trump. Maybe yes so, says Pope Leo. It's a serious subject, to be considered carefully, so let's discuss.

After numerous false signals where President Donald Trump would claim a deal was close, only to see Iran deny any such thing - it seems as though all parties are now suggesting that there has been movement, and maybe - just maybe - a deal could be done. According to reporting, the shape of such a deal seems remarkably based on Iranian proposals that Trump dismissed out of hand just weeks ago. So it seems as though the version of what finally gets signed is going to be a lot closer to the "US surrender" version and less like the "total Iran capitulation" version - which makes sense based on the dynamics so far. But can the US under narcissist Trump really bring itself to sign such a thing? Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week for Friday May 22nd, 2026: President Trump is ratcheting up the rhetoric and moving the pieces in place for an apparent attack of some sort on Cuba. His own party's lawmakers are in revolt about his latest scheme to hand out approaching two billion dollars of cash to anyone who supported him so much they were prepared to break the law for it. And following Trump's summit last week with Xi Jinping, his place was taken this week by Vladimir Putin, and the language on how they see the world was notably different.

Now that the 'excitement' of his summit meeting with China's Xi Jinping has worn off, President Donald Trump is left back exactly where he was before - staring at the Iran war, and clearly somewhat clueless as to what he can do next to seek to bring it to a successful conclusion. He has tried bluffing. He has tried bombing. What's left? Well, he described today an exciting new approach that he was taking, all assisted by his patience and lack of urgency. Well, that's his story anyway. Let's discuss.

An investigation by the New York Times has revealed how Trump's United States has been pushing a maximalist agenda for control on various aspects of Greenland in the working group talks that followed the grudging disavowal of the use of force earlier in the year. Those involved in the talks say that Trump has not given up on taking over the island and absorbing it into the USA. That being the case, how far can Denmark and Greenland continue to behave as though they're negotiating with a good faith actor? It seems that, while prime minister Nielsen is robust in public, some of those involved in the talks fear they're trying to give as much as they can in order to dissuade Trump from invading. Let's discuss.

While citizens of the United States fret about having to pay more at the pump for gasoline, President Donald Trump's illegal war on Iran is having massive consequences in many other parts of the world. The decision of this one man to abandon ongoing talks that were said to be making progress to use the military for an all-out attack instead - that is leading to tens of millions of people to be thrown into starvation who otherwise would not have been. While we care about how US people are feeling, since they are the ones who will soon be voting, it's important we don't lose sight of how this is playing out elsewhere, and particularly with the people it is hitting the hardest. Let's discuss.