This is a surprise to no one but other then the most ardent of Trumpers…even some that support him here know this, they just hate their fictionalized caricature of “libs” more… to the point that they will put someone as flawed as Trump in office.
On North Korea in 2018: “I know [Trump] won’t fall for it in the same way that past presidents have, that get strung along, strung along lifting sanctions, giving them money, and get nothing for it.”
On immigration in 2018: “They’re also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States into our modern society. … They don’t speak English; obviously that’s a big thing. … They don’t integrate well. They don’t have skills.”
John Kelly after having been fired by the President:
On North Korea: “Again, President Trump tried — that’s one way to put it. But it didn’t work. I’m an optimist most of the time, but I’m also a realist, and I never did think Kim would do anything other than play us for a while, and he did that fairly effectively.”
On immigration: “[T]hey’re overwhelmingly good people. … They’re not all rapists and they’re not all murderers. And it’s wrong to characterize them that way. I disagreed with the president a number of times.”
Never seen anyone, apart from the deepest of deep sycophants (e.g. Conway) ever say Trump was a good man when questioned. Downshifting to policy or the “God used David” is the usual response.
It means that every relationship he has is seen for the deal. What deal can he strike. What deal can he make. There is no friendship, no development of anything else outside of the deal he wants to or could possibly make.