Fear: Trump in the White House(74)

“One of the things he wants to do is” impose sanctions on Iran, the chief strategist said. “Is one of your fucking great allies up in the European Union” going to back the president? All this talk about how they are our partners. “Give me one that’s going to back the president on sanctions?”

Mnuchin attempted to answer on the importance of the allies.

“Give me one guy,” Bannon said. “One country. One company. Who’s going to back sanctions?”

Nobody answered.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Trump said. “He just made my point. You talk about all these guys as allies. There’s not an ally up there. Answer Steve’s question. Who’s going to back us?”

Tillerson said, “The best we can tell, they’re not in violation of anything.” All the intelligence agencies agreed on this. It was the critical point. How could they impose new sanctions, if there was no violation of the agreement?

“They’re all making money,” Trump said, noting the European Union was trading and making big deals with Iran. “And nobody’s going to have our back.”

Trump flipped to Afghanistan, where he already had endured half a dozen recent NSC and smaller meetings. “When are we going to start winning some wars? We’ve got these charts. When are we going to win some wars? Why are you jamming this down my throat?”

Referring to the Afghanistan commander, General John Nicholson, who was not present, the president lashed out. “I don’t think he knows how to win. I don’t know if he’s a winner. There’s no victories.”

Trump had not settled on an Afghanistan strategy, which was then still being debated.

“You should be killing guys. You don’t need a strategy to kill people.”

General Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sprang to Nicholson’s defense.

“Mr. President,” Dunford said, very polite, very soft-spoken, “there’s not a mandate to win. That’s not his orders.” Under Obama, who had pulled out most of the troops—down to 8,400, from a high of 100,000—the strategy was effectively to achieve a stalemate.

Mattis and Dunford were proposing new rules of engagement for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, freeing them up to be more aggressive and lethal by lifting Obama-era restrictions on the local commanders. Tactics would no longer be announced to the enemy. Recent success against ISIS demonstrated the importance of these changes.

Trump recalled that General Nicholson had authorized the use of the 20,000-pound bomb, the GBU-43/B, known also as the MOAB, Mother of All Bombs. “He let that fucking big bomb off on them.”

Yes, Dunford said, that was a decision made by the field commander, not in Washington.

Mattis tried to intervene politely, “Mr. President, Mr. President . . .”

“Mad Dog, Mad Dog,” Trump replied, using his Marine nickname. “They’re taking a free ride on us. What are we doing?” Trump questioned his generals as sharply as possible without shouting. “What about winning? The reason we’re in this spot is because you’ve been recommending these activities.”

The tension was increasing and soon they were back on Iran.

“They’re complying,” Tillerson said. “That’s the deal. They’re complying. You may not like it.” The secretary of state had a logical way of walking through the details of the technical compliance of the deal.

“That’s too establishment,” Trump told him. They were arguing that all these things fit together—the trade agreements with China, with Mexico, the Iran nuclear deal, the troop deployments, the foreign aid. Trump’s message was “no” on everything that had been presented.

“We can’t do this,” Trump said. “This is what’s gotten us in that situation.”

“When he says put sanctions in,” Bannon said, addressing Mnuchin. “These great partners, what are they going to do on sanctions?”

Mnuchin seemed to hedge.

“No, stop,” Bannon pressed. “Are they in or are they out?”

“They’ll never support it,” Mnuchin said.

“I rest my case,” Bannon said. “There’s your allies.”

“The European companies,” Trump said, pointing a finger at Mnuchin, “they’re fucking worthless.” Siemens, Peugeot, Volkswagen and other European household names were actively investing in Iran.

Trump said, “Rex, you’re weak. I want to decertify.”

Trump turned to one of his favorite issues. He wanted to slap tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and automobiles. He wondered why Mnuchin was not declaring China a currency manipulator as he wanted.

Mnuchin explained that China had, years ago, been a currency manipulator, but it no longer was.

“What do you mean?” Trump said. “Make the case. Just do it. Declare it.”

Mnuchin explained that U.S. law was specific about what was required to prove currency manipulation, and he could not make the case.

“We’re upside down” on trade deals, Trump said. “We’re underwater on every one of these.” The other countries are making money. “Just look at all this stuff up there. We’re paying for it all.” Those countries were “protectorates,” he declared.

“It’s actually good for our economy,” Cohn said again.