Countries in the World:
There are 195 countries in the world today. This total comprises 193 countries that are member states of the United Nations and 2 countries that are non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine.

They are not DEALS.
They are SUB DEALS.

The Sec Treasury won't publicly say his boss is full of shit, even when it's obvious he's full of shit. So he resorts to semantics and hand waving.

I know it was hilarious to watch this guy twist like a pretzel.

They are fragments of a concept, of a thought of an idea of a dream of a plan of a deal. Plain English: Vaporware.

We need more Subs and Sub Parts. Or we can sell more Subs and Parts. Or maybe these deals are just "underwater".

"So, it is agreed that my undersecretary will meet for lunch with your undersecretary Thursday at 11AM?"

"Yes, that is agreed. We have a deal."

"And can we agree they will not have fewer than 2 martinis but not more than 5?"

"Yes, again, we agree, That is another deal."

"Wonderful. We are making good progress here."

These are all deals.

So the treasury sec doesn’t know what the fuck the president is talking about. My amateur guess is they’re both lying in tandem. Lies. They are the basis of all conservative speak. Meanwhile the pain is coming THANKS TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.”

i mean, i guess kudos to them for pointing out that the number of deals is incorrect, but this is way too gentle.

it's done in such a way that does little to nothing to deter future lying. arguably, it still rewards the lying. when all you do is counter the lie with the truth, some -- maybe even most -- leave believing the truth, but more than a few will believe the lie, especially if it gets repeated, which is something you can count on republicans to do.

the news story here is that they lied. they advanced a deliberately grossly misleading number. this demands a follow-up.

"why would you lie?"

"don't you worry about your credibility?"

"why should we believe you?"

"is everything else you said a lie?"

ok, yeah, i get that some of these a bit much for standard journalism, but the point is, they lie with impunity, repeatedly, because they're never punished for it, and usually quite well rewarded.

the msm made a staple of ripping into clinton for lying about monica, and al gore for supposedly "lying" about the internet. they can certainly be harsh and punitive on political figures when they want. when they're democrats, of course....

This, absolutely!

He defines that as a "deal".

Yes, that's how stupid he "knows" his MAGAt dipshits are.

He creeps me out.

Why is he supposedly respected in the business community?

And one of them puts money in His bank account!

No it isn't, yes it is, ....

Is the likely explanation.

And he needs to be called that to his face. Every. Damn. Time.

this administration spews BS nonstop despite being called out on it. No evidence whatsoever of any deals.

If it was so super secret, put it on a signal chat and include some journalists.

Maybe they have concepts of a deal.