Trump loves to boast about his "relationships" with foreign leaders, basking in the optics of intimacy while rubbing shoulders on the global stage. But for all the self-congratulation, his vaunted deal‑making has produced little of substance.
Take Kazakhstan. Who in his administration even possesses the knowledge or negotiating weight to manage a $4 billion locomotive and rail equipment deal? The irony is hard to miss: America’s own rail system is a crumbling embarrassment—abysmal in infrastructure, outdated in equipment—yet this White House postures as though it can set the standard abroad.
Meanwhile, Trump’s attention is consumed elsewhere. Obsessed with rounding up immigrants, turning the U.S. military into a personal militia, punishing political enemies, and even chasing drug gangs across the Caribbean, he demonstrates a fixation with strongman theatrics. But in the arena that matters—Central Asia, where he imagines supplanting Xi Jinping—such hollow bluster is bound to collapse under its own weight.
Trump loves to boast about his "relationships" with foreign leaders, basking in the optics of intimacy while rubbing shoulders on the global stage. But for all the self-congratulation, his vaunted deal‑making has produced little of substance.
Take Kazakhstan. Who in his administration even possesses the knowledge or negotiating weight to manage a $4 billion locomotive and rail equipment deal? The irony is hard to miss: America’s own rail system is a crumbling embarrassment—abysmal in infrastructure, outdated in equipment—yet this White House postures as though it can set the standard abroad.
Meanwhile, Trump’s attention is consumed elsewhere. Obsessed with rounding up immigrants, turning the U.S. military into a personal militia, punishing political enemies, and even chasing drug gangs across the Caribbean, he demonstrates a fixation with strongman theatrics. But in the arena that matters—Central Asia, where he imagines supplanting Xi Jinping—such hollow bluster is bound to collapse under its own weight.
David Fieldman
Bassac Consulting Asia