President Donald Trump gets a bad rap as being stubborn to the point of obstinate.

What is amusing is that the same people who say that about him then turn around and criticize him for being all over the road and having no principles.

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What he is, in actuality, is a canny negotiator who knows when to raise, call, or fold.

Regarding the fake Oval Office controversy (what other kind is there these days?) surrounding the Trump Doral G7 meeting, the president merely tried to extend the taxpayers a break, as he offered the resort as a meeting location at no cost.

It was a noble gesture but bad optics, as it gave the Democrats a chance to pounce. The impression was that if it was his resort, then the federal government would be paying him for the event.

Related: Trump Takes His Doral Resort Off the Table for G7

The man is a billionaire several times over. Clearly he doesn’t need the extra cash.

When the president realized the problem, he smartly and intelligently changed course, as any rational person would have done.

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One man who gets this is Mike Huckabee, a former GOP presidential candidate and a former governor of Arkansas.

Huckabee said over the weekend on “Fox & Friends” that Trump “made the right move” when he withdrew the offer of hosting the G7 at his Miami resort.

“It’s just something he doesn’t need to add to his plate,” the former governor said. “For [the media] to try and make it that Donald Trump was even considering Doral because he was going to feather his own nest — my gosh, the man gives away every single penny of his entire presidential salary. This is absurd.”

Huckabee concluded, “The president is a fighter. He fights the right fight. Sometimes you just say, ‘This fight isn’t worth the trouble.'”

The father of former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders made a good point. The irrational Dem opposition would rather invent a problem out of whole cloth than save the taxpayers money or focus on something — anything — of actual importance to the country.

When you’re faced with that kind of unreasoning hysteria, it may be a good idea to walk away from dealing with the hysterics.

Related: Imagine if the Federal Gov’t Were Ever Broken Apart into Flyover Country?

It also shows that this president, as opposed to popular misconception, is not a prisoner of his ego.

If so, he would have doubled down out of sheer bloodymindedness.

But on this and other matters, he assessed the situation, reviewed the assets and liabilities — and made his call.

They are not always right — no one’s is. But his calls are generally smart and based on solid data. We also must remember that we don’t have access to that data — and thus much of the criticism of his decisions are solely backseat driving.

So the U.S. will spend perhaps tens of millions it didn’t have to, the Dems had a talking point that has already become irrelevant — and the fake scandal machine against this president will churn on.

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