Memo to Trump: Foreign policy is not a business transaction

DONALD Trump ran for office to be president as a "nationalist" while decrying the "globalist elites" who supposedly viewed the world through the lenses of corporate executives who dismiss the role of national identity and history in shaping American foreign policy.

But at the same time, the former real estate tycoon - who earned an MBA from an Ivy League school and authored The Art of the Deal - seemed to pursue what observers describe as "transactional diplomacy". In a way, he seems to regard the making of foreign policy as another form of business activity, and pledged to negotiate with America's rivals the kind of "beautiful" deals that he allegedly reached with his business competitors in the past.

From that perspective, he believes that all he needs in order to win on the world stage is to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with the Chinese, North Korean, Iranian or Palestinian leaders and dangle some economic goodies before them, while threatening them with punishment if they refuse to make deals with him - and he would do this while dazzling them with his personal charm.