Why is there so little talk about the leaked transcripts of Trump's phone conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia?

The Washington Post must have thought it was worth it to drop these full transcripts. They had to worry about criticism, exposing the confidential communications of the President with world leaders, undermining the power and prestige of the American presidency. They had to have thought it was worth doing. Why dump all this verbiage? Did they think the sheer amount of material would have a devastating impact?

I thought we were going to see many, many articles picking into the details here, but the story seems to have already blown over. On the front page of the NYT website, the only reference to the transcripts is a little teaser under the heading "More in Politics." Coming in third after "Kushner Firm Said to Be Under Inquiry Over Visa Program" and "Trump Cites Familiar Argument in Ban on Transgender Troops" is "Trump Called New Hampshire a ‘Drug-Infested Den.’" Trump's calling New Hampshire a ‘Drug-Infested Den'" is incredibly inconsequential, but it's what I broke out too when I was reading the news yesterday.

Why are we not seeing more? I noticed some stories claiming the transcripts show Trump is an idiot, but every day I see stories saying Trump is an idiot. And from what I've read of the transcripts (not every word), I don't think they show idiocy, and I think they're going to take careful reading to understand how Trump was trying to work with the 2 leaders. I suspect that Trump-haters who undertook serious study of the language have decided it's best not to try, that a close examination of the text will only help Trump, and therefore the transcripts have rapidly become a non-story.

Now, I'm going to read the transcript with Peña Nieto, and I'll update to tell you what I'm seeing.

ADDED: I'm reading the whole transcript and dropping my thoughts here as I go. I'm amazed at how long each man talks when he gets his turn to speak. Nieto, speaking Spanish, goes first and quickly gets to looking for a solution to the disagreement about Mexico paying for the wall. He sees potential for "a win-win situation" if the 2 countries are "creative" about it.

Trump compliments Peña Nieto and talks about tariffs as a solution to the trade deficit. He goes on at length about it, and finally it's Peña Nieto who brings up the wall again:

Let me tell you that the best virtual wall that I think we can build between our two countries is to make sure that both countries have economic development.

Trump then takes up the subject of the wall. When times are good in Mexico, yes, there's a "virtual wall," but the real wall is needed for when there are tough times, he says. "We have enough people coming across, we want to stop it cold." Then he switches to the subject of what is obviously a shared interest with Mexico, drug gang warfare:

And we have the drug lords in Mexico that are knocking the hell out of our country. They are sending drugs to Chicago, Los Angeles, and to New York. Up in New Hampshire – I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den – is coming from the southern border. So we have a lot of problems with Mexico farther than the economic problem. We are becoming a drug-addicted nation and most the drugs are coming from Mexico or certainly from the southern border. But I will say this – you have that problem too. You have some pretty tough hombres in Mexico that you may need help with, and we are willing to help you with that big-league. But they have to be knocked out and you have not done a good job of knocking them out. We have a massive drug problem where kids are becoming addicted to drugs because drugs are being sold for less money than candy because there is so much of it. So we have to work together to knock that out. And I know this is a tough group of people, and maybe your military is afraid of them, but our military is not afraid of them, and we will help you with that 100 percent because it is out of control – totally out of control.

Without letting Peña Nieto respond to that, Trump goes back to the subject of using taxation. As President, he has "tremendous taxation powers for trade and for other reasons – far greater than anybody understands." Notice he made a big, valuable offer to Peña Nieto — the American military will wipe out the drug gangs for you, and then switched back to the negative pressure of tariffs. Trump offers to have meetings that could perhaps avoid the simple, unilateral solution of taxing. Trump says he's got great people — "dealmakers... not obstructionist." The tax could be avoided:

I do not want to do that if we can work out a deal, so Jared Kushner and Luis can have the teams work out the deal. The only thing I will ask you though is on the wall, you and I both have a political problem. My people stand up and say, “Mexico will pay for the wall” and your people probably say something in a similar but slightly different language. But the fact is we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall – I have to. I have been talking about it for a two year period, and the reason I say they are going to pay for the wall is because Mexico has made a fortune out of the stupidity of U.S. trade representatives. 

The "I have to" is funny, because what is it to Peña Nieto that Trump talked about something for 2 years? That makes Trump feel obligated (or at least in need of political cover), but it doesn't bind Peña Nieto. But what I think is happening here is that Trump is creating some intimacy with Peña Nieto: Here's my political problem. And: You have political needs too. We can work together and help each other. And it's not that Peña Nieto is bound by Trump's having said something for 2 years, it's that "Mexico has made a fortune" out of stupid trade deals and ought to want to work with Trump.

Trump then returns to the problem of drug crime, which is a second basis for Mexico's interest in working with Trump (in addition to the avoidance of new tariffs). Trump says he campaigned about how Mexico is "beating us at trade" and "killing us with drugs." Trump says he knows Peña Nieto is not involved with the drug crime:

Now I know you are not involved with that, but regardless of who is making all the money, billions and billions and billions – some people say more – is being made on drug trafficking that is coming through Mexico. Some people say that the business of drug trafficking is bigger than the business of taking our factory jobs. So what I would like to recommend is – if we are going to have continued dialogue – we will work out the wall. They are going to say, “who is going to pay for the wall, Mr. President?” to both of us, and we should both say, “we will work it out.” It will work out in the formula somehow. As opposed to you saying, “we will not pay” and me saying, “we will not pay.”

That's the enticing offer. I can help you by holding off on the tariffs and sending in the military to wipe out the drug gangs, and you have to pay for that help by offering your money in a form that allows me to say you paid for the wall. You'll really be paying for something that is highly valuable to you, but I need to be able to say that was you paying for the wall. And:

Because you and I are both at a point now where we are both saying we are not to pay for the wall. From a political standpoint, that is what we will say. 

That is, Trump wants to be able to say Mexico paid for the wall, but he understands that Peña Nieto, speaking to his own people, wants to be able to say that Mexico did not pay for the wall. Is there some way Peña Nieto can avoid stepping on the message Trump wants to give? Trump says:

We cannot say [Mexico will pay for the wall] anymore because if you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that. 

This is Trump displaying a willingness to walk away — a deal-making technique he's frequently talked about. Notice that all he's asking Peña Nieto to do is to refrain from stating outright that he will not pay for the wall. Trump wants to be helped out and supported in his political need to be able to make the claim that Mexico paid for the wall, but Mexico will really be paying for things that are worth it to Mexico. Trump invites Peña Nieto to help him structure the deal that way:

I am willing to say that we will work it out, but that means it will come out in the wash and that is okay. But you cannot say anymore that the United States is going to pay for the wall. I am just going to say that we are working it out. Believe it or not, this is the least important thing that we are talking about, but politically this might be the most important talk about. But in terms of dollars – or pesos – it is the least important thing. I know how to build very inexpensively, so it will be much lower than these numbers I am being presented with, and it will be a better wall and it will look nice. And it will do the job.

Finally, Peña Nieto gets a turn to talk, and you can see that the drug-fighting idea hit home:

In terms of security, Mr. President, it is clear that organized crime is just as much our enemy as it is the enemy of your administration.

Trump immediately speaks again:

Enrique, you and I have to knock it out – you and I have to knock the hell out of them. 

Donald and Enrique, tough guys together, fighting tough guys.

Listen, I know how tough these guys are – our military will knock them out like you never thought of, we will work to help you knock them out because your country does not want that. Your citizens are being killed all over the place, your police officers are being shot in the head, and your children are being killed. And we will knock them out.

Come on, Enrique, fight with me. We'll be the toughest guys on the planet, you and me, killing all the bad guys.

Peña Nieto likes the pitch:

I fully agree that we should work together. And let me tell you that a lot of what is happening in terms of traffickers in Mexico is being largely supported by the illegal amounts of money and weapons coming from the United States. And this has led Mexico to fight against criminal gangs with the participation of the military and the entire army of Mexico. And this has taken many lives within the military and all the elements that are committed in this fight. But they are criminal groups that are well-armed, especially with weapons coming from the United States illegally into Mexico. I fully agree that both governments can work together to knock out and to do away fully with these criminal gangs.

Great! Do it! The people of both countries will rejoice.

Peña Nieto then goes back to the trade issue and sees it in a positive light — "we are moving forward in a very positive fashion" — and then he almost accepts the deal about paying for the wall:

You have a very big mark on our back, Mr. President, regarding who pays for the wall. This is what I suggest, Mr. President – let us stop talking about the wall. 

That's all Trump asked for. Stop stepping on my message. But Peña Nieto also wants Trump to stop stepping on his message. I'll stop saying we won't pay and you stop saying we are paying. Let's help each other. 

PEÑA NIETO: I have recognized the right of any government to protect its borders as it deems necessary and convenient. But my position has been and will continue to be very firm saying that Mexico cannot pay for that wall.

TRUMP: But you cannot say that to the press. The press is going to go with that and I cannot live with that. You cannot say that to the press because I cannot negotiate under those circumstances.

So that's the deal. I think it may have been all Trump wanted, but he arranged it so that Peña Nieto made the offer. Trump had asked for more, but this is all he really needed, and Peña Nieto can feel good about making an offer Trump accepted. That's the art of the deal, right? Peña Nieto seems buoyed by the progress, which he spells out to Trump. The word "creative" pops up 3 times here:

I understand you well, Mr. President. I understand this critical point and I understand the critical political position that this constitutes for your country and for you, Mr. President. Let us look for a creative way to jump over this obstacle. It does not mean that this is not an important issue – this is an important issue. However, this is why we should walk on the path that we began, because when we start talking about the wall it prevents us from talking about other important issues that we must discuss. I clearly understand what this issue constitutes for you in the United States. And for Mexico, it is also an issue that goes beyond the economic situation because this is an issue related to the dignity of Mexico and goes to the national pride of my country. Let us for now stop talking about the wall. Let us look for a creative way to solve this issue, for this to serve both are your government, my government, and both of our societies. Let us leave this topic – let us put it aside and let us find a creative way of looking into this issue. And let us move forward on other issues that I think are positive for both of our countries. That would be my position, Mr. President.

Trump says that's "fine" and "fair." He'll adopt a  new way of speaking about the wall:

I do not bring up the wall but when the press brings up the wall, I will say, “let us see how it is going – let us see how it is working out with Mexico.” Because from an economic issue, it is the least important thing we were talking about, but psychologically, it means something so let us just say “we will work it out.” But I know what you are saying, it is something that is good for you. It is very important for you to understand this – I want the best solution also for Mexico. I do not just want a great solution for the United States. And what I am talking about is not a good solution for Mexico – it is a great solution for the United States, which is a tariff on everything coming into our country. Now, that is the best solution economically for the United States, but I feel very strongly that it is important that as our neighbor, we have a strong relationship – the stronger the better.

Trump brims with positivity at this point:

... I want Mexico to be a strong and happy country. I think I can do that. And we can get close enough to have a decent deal for the United States but at the same time have a good deal for Mexico.... And do not feel lonely because we are going to be having talks with China also.... [Our teams will] knock something out that will be a fabulous agreement. It will look good for both of us. I will say with you representing Mexico and me representing the United States we will have a good agreement and we will almost become the fathers of our country – almost not quite okay? 

The male bonding has gone from brothers in arms, fighting the bad guys, to fathers of our country.  Peña Nieto accepts the position blandly...

And we have to generate jobs, and we have to be stronger and we have to be growing. I share that position with you.

... so Trump restates it, more like what we hear in the movies:

It is you and I against the world, Enrique, do not forget.

Peña Nieto resists getting that casual. He never even calls Trump "Donald," despite all those "Enriques." He ascends to a lofty level, speaking of the "spirit of my government," more about "working together," and his favorite word, "creative" appears 2 more times:

Let us stop talking about who pays for the wall, talking about the wall in general, because I think there is a more creative way we can start looking for a solution. And it is the way we can remove the big block in our path. And let us now start talking about creative ways on how this wall is going to be paid because I fully understand that it is your sovereign right to talk about this, because you are protecting your southern border. But this cannot be the strongest thing in our path that keeps us from having a dialogue, and keeps us from having economic development.

He's making the proposal again though the deal is already done. Trump says "I agree with you 100 percent." The conversation is coming to an end and Trump invites him to "put out a statement saying we had a great conversation." Peña Nieto agrees, and Trump pumps him up:

I want you to be so popular that your people will call for a constitutional amendment in Mexico so that you can run again for another six years.

Peña Nieto resists talk about his personal political success:

You are very kind, Mr. President. And really, the only thing I am interested in for both of our nations to do well – for your government, for you, and for us to truly have a relationship with friendship and a very constructive relationship, Mr. Trump.

Trump notices his preference and switches to pumping him up about his lofty language:

You know, we should put that in the statement. Your words are so beautiful. Those are beautiful words and I do not think I can speak that beautifully, okay? It would be great to put those words at the end of the statement. Really nice though.

Trump wants a nice statement to come out of this conversation, and Peña Nieto agrees to put his own beautiful words in a the statement to the public:

We will do so, Mr. President...

Now, what if anything is there in all of that to use against Trump? Really, the only thing is that he cares about his personal political success and doesn't mind referring to it directly, even when the other guy insists that it's all only about the public good. There's nothing in there about Trump perhaps not really wanting to build a physical wall. He seems dedicated to that. You can't see him conceding that Mexico won't pay for the wall. What you see is some complicated, political structuring of a way to get the wall paid for that will probably satisfy the people who heard that promise and wanted it kept. But what can his antagonists grab onto? They can't very well oppose crushing the drug gangs or better trade deals. So it's no wonder they went big with Oh! He insulted New Hampshire! And that's it for the transcripts. Don't encourage people to actually read them. They might think Trump did just fine.

(I'll read the other transcript later.)

UPDATE: I do the other transcript here.