本は全体で１７章構成。最初のうちは１章ごとにひとつの政策課題について書いています。不法移民、外交、教育、医療保険といった感じですね。そのうち自己紹介的な内容になってきて、「俺は実はいいヤツなんだ」とか「俺こそ愛国者なんだ」みたいな話になります。
いわんとすることは、「俺は成功したビジネスマンだから、交渉の仕方を知っているし、妥協の仕方も知っている。政治家は政治献金をしてくれる企業の顔色ばかりをうかがっているけど、俺はそうじゃない。自分の考えで動くし、いつも米国全体のことを考えている。大統領にふさわしいのは俺だし、俺を批判するメディアの連中は偏向している」ということですね。
トランプさんの問題意識は一般国民と違うわけじゃないです。「貧乏人は勝手に苦労してろ！」みたいなことは言わない。共和党のエスタブリッシュメントみたいな人は「大企業寄り」みたいなイメージがありますが、そうした立場とは一線を画しているんだと思います。ただ、解決の方法は具体的じゃない。ひたすら「俺はビジネスマンだから、同じことをやらしても、政治家よりはうまくやれる」という論法を繰り返すだけです。既存の政策は全否定。どんな政策だって、「俺がやったら、もっとうまくいっていたはずだ」と言ってしまう。
こんな論法のトランプさんが支持されるのは、今のワシントンの政治が「オバマ対議会」「共和党対民主党」「共和党穏健派対ティーパーティー」なんていう対立がこじれちゃって、どこにも妥協が成立しない状況が続いてきたからだと思います。２００８年にオバマが大統領に初当選したとき、オバマは「ひとつの米国」を訴えたし、国民もそれを期待した。でも実際はそうはならなかった。下院議長になったばかりのポール・ライアンが仕切った昨年１２月の予算協議はようやく出てきた前向きな動きだったわけですが、米国民はちょっと待たされすぎたわけです。だから、「政治家じゃないトランプさんだったら、なんとか上手くやってくれるかも」というムードがあるのだと思います。
自分が大金持ちで成功者であることをアピールするのも、そういった期待を高めるためなんでしょう。あと、自分の子供たちが立派な大人になっていることをアピールするのも、自分が父親としても成功していることを強調しているのだと思います。実際、トランプの子供たちの悪い評判は聞きません。
ただ、こうした論法はオーナー企業のトップとしては成立するかもしれませんが、政治の世界ではどうなんでしょうという疑問もあります。トランプさんが自分の会社で決断したことは、例え妥協の産物で不満を抱く人がいたとしても、異議を挟む人はいません。株主は自分ですしね。でも大統領が現実的な妥協をすれば、あらゆる方向から異議が出てくる。そもそも大統領は独裁者じゃないから、なんでも自分の思い通りの決断ができるわけじゃないし。このあたりのことをトランプさんはどう考えているのか。自分の資金と弁舌とメディア操縦術をもってすれば、政治家たちを黙らせることが出来ると思っているんでしょうか。それともオーナー企業のトップと大統領は同じようなものだと思っているのか。
ちなみにトランプさんは高い手腕をもった大統領として、レーガンとジョンソンの名前を挙げています。ジョンソンについては、公民権法を成立させたときの交渉手腕を評価しているみたいですね。”he took on the far left and the far right and threatened them in order to get his way”なんて書いています。あと、自分は１９９０年代の失敗から学んでいるとしているのも印象的です。こんなトランプさんでも、辛かったんでしょうね。
そのほかの語録としては、
“I’m a practical businessman who has learned that when you believe I something, you never stop, you never quit, and if you get knocked down, you climb right back up and keep fighting until you win”
“I learned a long time ago that if you’re not afraid to be outspoken, the media will write about you or beg you to come on their show”
（移民排斥主義者だとの批判について）“The next thing you heard was that Trump said all immigrants were criminals. That wasn’t what I said at all, but it made a better story for the media
“It’s not fair to everyone else, including people who have been waiting on line for years to come into our country legally”
“Most important is ending or curtailing so-called birthright citizenship, or anchor babies”
“If fact, I would like to reform and increase immigration in some important ways…..This country is a magnet for many of the smartest, hardest-working people born in other countries, yet we make it difficult for these bright people who follow the laws to settle here ”
（現在の外交政策を批判して）“When you’re digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole, stop digging”
“The best way not to have to use your military power is to make sure that power is visible. When people know that we will use force if necessary and that we really mean it, we’ll be treated differently. With respect”
（イラクが１９９１年にクウェートを侵攻した際、クウェートの富裕層は避難先のパリで贅沢な暮らしを続けていたとして）”They were watching TV in the best hotel rooms in Paris while our kids were fighting for them”
“We can’t be afraid to use our military, but sending our sons and daughters should be the very last resort”
“Unfortunately, it may require boots on the ground to fight the Islamic State. I don’t think it’s necessary to broadcast our strategy”
“The side that needs the deal the most is the one that should walk away with the least”
“I know the best negotiators in this country, and a lot of them would be ready to go to work creating a fair balance of trade”
“I don’t want people to know exactly what I’m doing ---or thinking. I like being unpredictable”
（教育問題について）“You know what makes a kid feel good? Winning. Succeeding”
“We need to get a lot tougher on trouble makers. We need to stop feeling sorry for them. They are robbing other kids of time to learn. I’m not saying we should go back to the days when teachers would get physical with students, but we need to restore rules about behavior in the classroom and hire trained security officers who can help enforce those rules”
（気候変動問題について）”We have even had ice ages. I just don’t happen to believe they are man-made”
（オバマケアについて）”And it was only approved because President Obama lied 28 times saying you could keep your doctor and your plan --- a fraud and the Republicans should have sued --- and meant it”
“To succeed in business, you have to be flexible and you have to change with the realities of the world”
“There is no question we need real health care reform. We can’t let Americans go without health care because they don’t have the right resources”
“We should hire the most knowledgeable people in the world on this subject and lock them in a room --- and not unlock the door until they’ve agreed on the steps we need to take”
“During the Recession of 1990 many of my friends went bankrupt, and never recovered. I never went bankrupt. I survived, and learned so much about how to deal with bad times”
“In the 1990s, the government changed the real estate tax laws and made those changes retroactive. It was very unfair, but I fought through it and thrived. It absolutely killed the construction industry. It put a lot of people out of business”
“We should not touch Social Security”
“I’m a nice guy. I really am”
“A great leader has to be flexible, holding his ground on the major principles but finding room for compromises that can bring people together”
“By nature, I’m a conservative person. I believe in a strong work ethic, traditional values, being frugal in many ways and aggressive in military and foreign policy. I support a tight interpretation of the Constitution, which means judges should stick to precedent and not write policy”
（火星に人類を送るミッションについて）”I think it’s wonderful. But I want to rebuild our infrastructure first on Earth…I don’t understand how we can put a man on the moon but we can’t fix the potholes on the way to O’Hare International Airport”
“There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that stimulates the economy better than construction”
“I’m not going to pretend that being rich doesn’t offer a lot of wonderful opportunities, but it doesn’t necessarily make you happy. I’ve learned that wealth and happiness are two completely different things. I know the riches people in the world. Many of them are great negotiators and great businesspeople. But they’re not necessarily nice people, nor are they the happiest people”
“It’s not fun being a landlord. You have to be tough”
“My two oldest sons claim they’re the only sons of a billionaire who know how to run a Caterpillar D10”
“Honestly, I was a bit of a troublemaker. My parents finally took me out of school and sent me upstate to the New York Military Academy”
“Stand behind your word, and make sure your word stands up”
“The way you dress and the way you act is an important way of showing respect for the people you are representing and the people you are leading with. Impressions matter”
（税制改革案について）“It also eliminate the death tax, because you earned that money and already paid taxes on it. You saved it for you family. The government already took its bite; it isn’t entitled to more of it”
“The Democrats want to make inversions illegal, but that isn’t going to work. Whatever laws they pass, with literally billions of dollars at stake, corporations will find methods to get around them. It makes a lot more sense to create an environment that welcomes business”
（１９７０年代に手がけたグランドハイアットの改装事業について）”During the years it took me to put this deal together, I learned a lot about working with the city and the banks, the construction industry and the unions”
（トランプタワーの建設事業について）”One of the things I’m most proud of about that building is that the person I put in charge of overseeing construction was a 33-year-old woman. I made that decision in 1983, when the fight for gender equality in business was really beginning”
政治や外交、経済の専門家からすれば笑止千万な内容なのかもしれませんが、一般庶民の目線に立てばうなずける部分も多いと思います。問題はここに書かれていることが、どれだけ本当か分からないところでしょうか。
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