In the book which carries Donald Trump’s name — accounts vary as to how much authorship he contributed — there is one word which has resonated throughout his career.
In The Art of the Deal, published in 1987, Mr Trump is credited with saying: “Leverage. Don’t make deals without it. Enhance.” That philosophy was aggressively to the fore when he told Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you don’t have the cards” and then cut off signals intelligence to the beleaguered Ukrainians.
And it’s a maxim to which Micheál Martin must cleave this Wednesday when he visits the White House, as was made very clear in the compelling series by our reporter Sean Murray about undocumented, long-term, Irish migrants to the United States.
In a series of interviews in New York, Boston, and Chicago, our reporter spoke to people who have made a life in America, pay taxes there, but now live a precarious existence since Donald Trump made electoral commitments to return anyone who is in the country illegally.
Human rights lawyer Brian O’Neill, nephew of former House speaker “Tip” O’Neill Jr, warns that it will make no difference whether you hail from Mayo or El Salvador. His firm has been approached by natives of 92 countries.
This is a reminder that you don’t have to live in a Kafkaesque totalitarian state to fear the consequences of a daily knock on the door. A minor indiscretion, an outspoken comment, a fishing expedition to business premises by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), or even a tip-off from a neighbour or blackmailer can lead to life-changing circumstances.
This is an awful predicament and one which should be mediated if at all possible. Memories of discussions on a general amnesty; Donnelly visas; pleas from Bertie Ahern — all of these are episodes from the past and we need to start again.
We enjoy a bit of horse-trading, and that sometimes involves letting the other person believe that they know more and have the upper hand. As Ireland enters the Oval Office on the day of the Champion Hurdle, there is a suggestion that we should contemplate offering a reciprocal visa deal to mark next year’s 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. This is smart thinking, and it is transactional which we have seen plays well along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Of itself, it is unlikely to be enough and we have to have a number of propositions in our back pocket to make progress. And recall another phrase from the book which president Trump may, or may not, have written: “I never get too attached to one deal or one approach. For starters, I keep a lot of balls in the air, because most deals fall out, no matter how promising they seem at first.”
We are unlikely to get anywhere solely with sentiment. But this is a leader who likes flattery, the camera, and who is vain. It’s not beyond our wit to find some offers on which we can agree common ground.
Too much tech taken on trust
It is a question which bears repetition. Why, when it comes to technology, are we so credulous? And when will we be badly burnt enough to learn our lesson?
Warning signals emerge almost daily. One of the most recent in Ireland concerned the humble QR code, beloved of cost-pruning businesses, but heartily disliked by some consumers. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said criminals were placing fake codes over legitimate ones in restaurants, parking payment machines, and even on public posters and leaflets.
It doesn’t help that companies are relentless in their efforts to equate citizenship and consumer activity with mobile phone ownership and eliminate choice from the repertoire of customers.
Ryanair has done many good things, but its plan to eliminate paper boarding passes — now pushed back until November — is a thoroughly bad idea irrespective of the assertion that 80% of its customers already check-in online.
That people may do this (and one in five customers don't) through using reliable home or hotel connections is one thing. But wifi at various airports around Europe can be notoriously flaky and will add to the stress and irritation which has made flying one of the least pleasurable transport experiences.
If these may seem the prosaic concerns of the little people to corporate strategists, what then of the grand scale frauds being perpetrated on the world?
Crypto markets are just stabilising after North Korean hackers stole $1.5bn (€1.4bn) of Ethereum from the exchange platform Bybit.
This Friday, US president Donald Trump will host a “crypto summit” at the White House on how to make it easier for people to punt savings into digital currencies. Meanwhile, a case at London’s Old Bailey has revealed that the man behind the multi-billion euro Wirecard financial scandal in Germany was the controller of a ring of spies taking instructions from the Kremlin.
While fintech is given too much rope investor enthusiasm, often a synonym for greed, shows no sign of abating.
More than 100,000 people attended last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where there was breathless talk of AI, for “disruption” of banking services, and loftily impenetrable statements about how to open “ human potential boundaries and cocreate a new paradigm for civilization.”
Being too clever by half is an identifiable human failing. Unfortunately, it is ordinary citizens who carry the consequences. The author Tom Wolfe would have been 95 this week. His most famous title — The Bonfire of the Vanities — retains its relevance.
Grenfell sanctions
When Micheál Martin exchanges views with president Trump, he may reference Irish commercial success stories in America — Ryanair, the Kerry Group, and Kingspan for example.
Kingspan would be glad to be mentioned positively, having again been name-checked by the British government over its part in the Grenfell tragedy which killed 72 people eight years ago this summer.
The company, which has apologised for historic “wholly unacceptable failings” which were not found to be “causative” of the disaster, was one of seven organisations listed for potential debarment from the British public contracts. The firms will now be investigated under the newly established Procurement Act.
