The Transactional Presidency
Is Trump's negotiating method well suited to constitutional government, and can it produce durable outcomes?
by Erik Richer La Flèche

---

"A must-read cogently breaking down Donald Trump’s aggressive strategizing and bargaining methods." —Kirkus Reviews Big deals, strategic uncertainty, and challenging critics are some of the key moves used by Trump to become a very rich man. In fact, he outlined these strategies in his 1987 book, Trump: The Art of the Deal. But how do these strategies work in his presidency? Author Erik Richer La Flèche explores this intriguing question in The Transactional Presidency by focusing on Trump’s first eighteen months of his second term. Examples of domestic and international affairs during this period provide the backdrop against which the strategies of a transactional presidency and leadership by deal-making meet legislative oversight, judicial review, and other constitutional safeguards. In the examination of these, the author offers a nonpartisan, thought-provoking, and insightful analysis of the effectiveness—and limitations—of Trump’s negotiating methods while president. By exploring how the tactics that create movement in business work in a constitutional system, The Transactional Presidency offers a fresh framework for understanding the relationship between negotiation, power, institutional constraints, and durability—and for considering what it takes to turn a successful deal into an enduring result for negotiators in any field.

---

Erik Richer La Flèche has over four decades of experience as a lawyer and negotiator. During his career, he specialized in negotiating deals on large projects involving infrastructure, industry, and natural resources around the world. He was a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP—one of Canada’s top business law firms—for thirty-three years, and from 1981 to 1984, Erik was seconded to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, Erik served for five years as Bangladesh’s Honorary Consul for Quebec. Erik is married to Carolina Gallo, an executive and consultant in the electricity industry. They live in Montreal but like to spend as much time as possible in Nova Scotia, Paris and Anguilla. Erik retired at the end of 2022 from the active practice of law but continues to sit on boards and occasionally lectures, consults and blogs. In Erik’s first book, Win-Win Deal Making: Lessons from the Road, he shares deal-making insights gleaned from his vast international experience. In his second book, The Transactional Presidency, he uses his negotiating experience to examine how certain private sector deal-making strategies work in government.

---

Contributors

Author

Erik Richer La Flèche