POTUS Always Knew.
(media.greatawakening.win)
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"The Art of the Deal" was an homage to "The Art of War". Trump has been a student of Sun Tzu for, effectively, his entire life.
"Appear strong when you are weak, and weak when you are strong."
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Agreed marvin! Wonder if it was taught in Military Tactics Class when he was in the Military Academy?
Not to date myself too much...but in my city of origin we had a highly respected military college, and there were always cadets there who'd attended NYMA as well as other military prep schools (like Valley Forge or St. John's).
I was very small at the time. But I got to hear about this history locally, then see a bit inside the culture through earning my degree at the abovementioned college, which had "gone civilian" in the 1970s. I had a lot of friends in the ROTC just by culture, inclination, and temperament.
Also there were still a lot of the old military profs teaching there. I was fortunate to have had one as my mentor and adviser, a tough, tolerant, brilliant, respected man who brought out the best in everyone he taught. (He got forced into retirement as the compass swung toward affirmative action, political correctness, victimization culture, and hating of the Western traditions.) I asked him once what he considered his life's work to be, and he said without hesitation, "Tending the Spark of Divine Fire."
He most CERTAINLY taught Sun Tzu, in addition to the western traditions of military culture/history, not as a separate course but steeped into other things.
For instance, his very popular "Science Fiction Writing" class had a large component of military history in it. He'd connect up SF stories to those traditions, and assign his students to write essays or their own stories expressing those bigger strategic/tactical ideas. Sun Tzu was among them.
Sun Tzu's philosophy was of interest to WW2 and postwar military strategists facing the rapid rise of complex, lethal military technology. (Also the topic of a lot of SF writers from the '40s to the '80s.) And men of those generations recognized the East as a competing force on the world stage.
Sun Tzu did write about "subduing the enemy without fighting," but that had a bigger context: to make sure that when the moment of battle came, your forces were prepared, aware, and ready to give their all.
But I've run on long enough...I just wanted to say I think the answer to your question is "most assuredly," but it was probably also steeped thoroughly into the entire culture of that place, at that time, in ways nearly lost to general people/culture today. Restoring that is, I think, part of the infrastructure challenge facing us: the foundations of the West aren't just bricks and mortar. Make peace...but prepare for war.
This is fascinating Rain! Thank you for sharing your persona count of better times. I'm furious that Prof of his caliber were forced out...the students and our Society suffered as well.
I Salute his teaching excellence! 🫡🌟
Thank you, Joy. He helped form the minds and spirits of many a cadet, and then after that, many civilians too.
I suspect that it was.
Seems reasonable...
Also: in the 1980s there was a view of Japan that is similar to the current view of China. That they are invading, buying up everything, taking our jerbs, etc. There are many movies about this, like "Rising Sun", and even "Gung Ho", etc. So back then it was definitely de rigueur to "study your enemy", and that meant to learn about the Japanese. Yes, Sun Tzu is Chinese. However, it was the view that the Japanese revered this book and it was therefore part of who they were/how they think. Knowing what I know now, I actually agree with this in that the thinking in Sun Tzu's work is almost at the "DNA Level" of a Japanese warrior. I would prefer other more Japanese texts, but Sun Tzu cannot be denied.
All of which is to say that Trump could possibly have become enamored of this book in the 1980s, due to this thinking/fashion in that time.