THE ART OF THE DEAL
"In other words, it was a normal cabinet meeting in the age of Trump. What was once considered a dry policy discussion among restrained public servants has turned into a kind of West Wing performance art, featuring a president prone to exaggeration and his advisers taking turns praising him and his policies.
By now, the ritual has become familiar, like a monthly installment of a faithfully watched reality show with a story line that has become almost comically consistent."
RIGHT ON SONNY!
"He asked Sonny Perdue, the agriculture secretary, how American farmers are faring. “The farmers like Trump,” the president said. They’re selling the corn, and they’re selling the soybean, and they’re selling everything at levels that are soon going to be pretty good levels,” Mr. Trump said. “I’m hearing it’s starting to really pick up.”
Prices for agricultural exports fell last month by the largest percentage in seven years, driven in large part by a major drop for soybeans.
Mr. Perdue pushed back a bit, but only gently.
“Obviously there are some price constraints right now,” he began. But, Mr. Perdue told the president, the farmers were keeping the faith. “They believe what you’re doing in China, as you’ve tried to indicate to them, will lead to a better and brighter future,” Mr. Perdue said."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/us/politics/trump-cabinet-meetings.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics