Veteran journalist reveals his private talks with Trump
His presidency, for all its chaos and contradiction, has revealed a consistent internal logic behind the madness — call it instinctual realism, or perhaps just gut-based governance. Either way, the former real estate mogul, reality TV impresario, and now, for the second time, commander-in-chief, has honed a seven-step process for making decisions that only Trump could pull off — and only Trump would dare try. And if this Trumpian process feels curiously designed for a live camera feed? Well, that's because it is.
1. Know Who to Ask (Even If It's a Golf Caddy)
Conventional presidents lean on national security advisors and policy briefings. Trump? He'll ask the gardener at Mar-a-Lago if bombing Iran seems like a good idea. That's not a joke. Trump consults generals and cabinet members, to be sure — but also Bedminster Club members, business pals, restaurant servers, and occasionally his kids. These on-the-fly dialogues might seem random and unserious, but here's the kicker: Trump has a very high human intelligence radar. He knows how to extract insights from unexpected sources, and he values street smarts as much as Ivy pedigrees.
2. History Buff in a Red Hat
Trump is not generally considered a scholar or an intellectual, and he has been derided for occasionally confusing historical facts or offering up sham data. Yet, as I have observed in private conversations with Trump and from his public statements, the president is surprisingly astute and knowledgeable about past events and the lessons they offer. Trump's fascination with his presidential brethren is genuine. He drops obscure facts about John Adams and Dwight Eisenhower with the glee of a 'Jeopardy!' contestant.
His Oval Office décor is part war room and part presidential history museum. He channels Nixon's 'madman theory,' Reagan's crackerjack camera instincts, and even Clinton's political elasticity. This isn't mere cosplay. It's tactical. Trump sees history as both a cautionary tale and as a playbook. He studies the winners and the losers, not only to avoid short-term quicksand and grasp splashy successes, but to keep an eye on the long-term allure of his legacy.
3. Deadlines Are for Mortals
Tell Trump on Monday that he needs to decide by Wednesday, and he'll circle back around on Friday… of the following month. The man does not operate on government time. Trump decides when he's ready and not a moment before. That nebulous schedule frustrates some staffers, foreign leaders, and journalists — but it's also part of his process. A swift Trump decision is a rare thing; he marinates, digests, delays. And then, in a snap, when everyone else has moved on, he acts. Trump's tacit motto? 'Make no decision before its time.' He is the sort of person who arrives late for a neighborhood tag sale and walks off with the priceless artifact.
4. Match the Method to the Moment
Some bureaucratic choices are moral. Others are strategic. Trump doesn't pretend one size fits all. While Bush 43 sometimes made decisions by gut and Obama by measured deliberation, Trump toggles between instinct and data based on what the moment demands. When he sent bombs to Iran, it wasn't about ideology — it was about leverage. When he changes his tariff play, it isn't always about doctrine — it is about control. And his goal is to maintain that control for the remainder of his term and beyond.
5. Execution Is Everything
For Trump, a decision isn't over when it's made — it's just beginning. Think of the 2023 catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio, during the Biden Administration, when a train derailment spilled highly toxic chemicals into the region. Most politicians would have issued a brief statement from afar. Trump, in the middle of his presidential campaign, flew straight to the disaster site, connected the small-town tragedy to big-time governmental implications, and created a viral campaign moment that he would later echo with his iconic visit to a Pennsylvania McDonald's in October 2024, mere weeks before the 2024 presidential election.
To Trump, therefore, implementation is as significant as the choice. His mind is a movie set. Every detail matters. The head shots, the applause lines, the backdrop, the lighting, the cast of characters. And Trump is not just the star. He's the director, the screenwriter, the cameraman, and the publicist.
6. Frame It Before They Do
One of the oldest lessons in politics remains one of the most important: define yourself before others do. Trump follows this directive with religious fervor — only his church is built with social media posts and mugshot merch. Trump not only makes decisions, he narrates, reframes, rebrands, and rewinds them. The media can chase the story, but Trump keeps control of the narrative. This is why he never fears flip-flopping, a conundrum that has felled many a politician in the past. For Trump, flips-flops are for the weak, but changing your mind is for the strong — if you know how to sell it. And no president, other than FDR or Clinton, has ever sold decisions quite like Trump.
7. Trust the Gut
In the end, after all the Oval Office powwows, the family meetings, the phone calls with foreign leaders, the Fox News hits, the Mar-a-Lago tête-à-têtes, Trump always returns to the one thing he trusts the most: his instincts. Trump may experience the same doubts as any president who must make global-scale decisions. But when judgment day arrives, Trump follows his internal compass. Sometimes that leads him into storms. Sometimes it lands him a bullseye. Either way, he owns it.
When Trump makes mistakes, he doesn't obsess, he pivots past them. And while other presidents may anguish over moral reckonings and political consequences, Trump is confident that decisive leadership is the real virtue. Better to act and adjust than dither and decay. So, what does it all add up to? It's not 'Game Theory.' It's not 'Decision Points.' It's not even 'The Art of the Deal.' It's Trumpian, modern, perhaps uniquely American.
The result is a presidency that operates like a casino floor, a cable set, a boardroom, and a battlefield — all at once. Call it chaotic, call it clever, call it dangerous, but don't call it accidental. Because, as strange as it may seem, this is the plan. And whether President Trump ultimately will end up as a transformational leader or a foundering maverick, one thing's clear: Trump is the decider's decider. And he's still not done deciding. Mark Halperin is the editor-in-chief and host of the interactive live video platform 2WAY and the host of the video podcast 'Next Up' on the Megyn Kelly network.
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