Much like his announcement that he had “eliminated North Korea as a nuclear threat” a few months ago, Republican President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday of a trade deal with Mexico is more performance than reality.

Apparently, under the US Constitution, the President of the United States doesn’t have unlimited powers to do whatever he wants. Republicans in congress appear to be growing some backbone and have made statements that not only must Canada must be involved, but that congress makes the laws. While not completely clear, it appears that at the very least, congress could make it difficult for Trump to unilaterally withdraw from NAFTA. And according to some very informed people, because the trade agreement is a law passed by congress, the law would possibly still apply, regardless of what the president says.

Perhaps the president thinks he has authority he doesn’t have. Or perhaps he is trying to distract Americans from the constant scandals.

What is very clear is that Donald Trump built his businesses as houses of cards and he’s taken the same approach to his presidency. Constantly hungering for attention and anything that might cast him in the slightest positive light, he is always shooting from the hip and making it up as he goes. The North Korea “deal” turned out, as the “fake news media” said it was at the time, to be nothing concrete with no specifics, no teeth, and no basis in reality. This “deal” is likely to turn out the same way.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trumps-path-to-a-new-nafta-deal-runs-through-canada-lawmakers-say/2018/08/28/2df0c15a-aac2-11e8-8a0c-70b618c98d3c_story.html?utm_term=.08385c351ee0