The Times tells us that Trump and his gang have in fact noticed that doing stupid things very quickly doesn’t necessarily work out well.
But one thing has become apparent to both his allies and his opponents: When it comes to governing, speed does not always guarantee success.
The bungled rollout of his executive order barring immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, a flurry of other miscues and embarrassments, and an approval rating lower than that of any comparable first-term president in the history of polling have Mr. Trump and his top staff rethinking an improvisational approach to governing that mirrors his chaotic presidential campaign, administration officials and Trump insiders said.
Surprise surprise surprise – it’s not actually a job you can just make up as you go. Who knew?! Who knew that it’s a large and complicated job requiring lots and lots of consultation and thought and responsibility and care? What possible way could anyone have to know that ahead of time?
This account of the early days of the Trump White House is based on interviews with dozens of government officials, congressional aides, former staff members and other observers of the new administration, many of whom requested anonymity. At the center of the story, according to these sources, is a president determined to go big but increasingly frustrated by the efforts of his small team to contain the backlash.
God he’s a fool. What did he think would happen? That it would be exactly like a daydream? That he would say what to do and people would do it and instant awesomeness would occur?
One former staff member likened the aggressive approach of the first two weeks to D-Day, but said the president’s team had stormed the beaches without any plan for a longer war.
Well, plus…also…hi…it’s not D-Day? At all? In any way? Not to mention the fact that D-Day took more than two fucking years to plan and implement? That thousands of highly trained experts from several countries were involved in the planning and implementation? That it was decidedly not a matter of Churchill just waving his hand and saying “Invade Europe now!”? That it couldn’t be more different from Trump’s reckless amateur way of carrying on if it tried? The president’s team absolutely did not storm any god damn beaches – they did the equivalent of wading into the Channel in Southampton carrying pistols and then standing there looking stupid.
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16 responses to “Dashing madly off in all directions”
Well, for them it is. Trump has declared war on any and all who dare to disagree with his vision of what it means for America to be great. He has declared war on any and all who dare to suggest that he himself is not the best, the smartest, the handsomest, the sexiest, the bestest of the bestest, or even who happen to notice that he has small hands or point out truths like the fact that hiring a businessman who has bankrupted his business multiple times might not be what it takes to make America great again…phew, I think I’ll end this extra long sentence now. Forgive me.
Yes, but it’s Twitter war. No amphibious landing craft. A few other odds and ends of equipment also missing.
And if one absolutely must use that D-Day simile, is it not more like Hitler’s planning to thwart that invasion? BTW, who is Trump’s astrologist? He must have had some method to navigate among all those stars, right?
But speaking about amphibians, he does stay in a gater compound while in Florida? So he knows about swamps.
I don’t think it matters to Trump and friends. They have no clue of the real hardships of a D-Day invasion; it’s all an old movie to them, no more difficult than The Apprentice. Just…show up with the proper make up and outfit, stand where you’re told to stand, and if you have to fall in the mud, well, it’ll wash off, right?
I doubt that Trump has any concept of anything much more harsh about war than having an occasional news bulletin interrupt his cartoons during Bay of Pigs. (And yes, I realize Trump was 18 by the time of Bay of Pigs – it’s a metaphor, OK?). My Trump-lite brother was so eager to go to war he almost cried when Vietnam ended before he was quite old enough to go. I can’t imagine him lasting more than 10 minutes in the jungle, especially with no woman to fix and carry for him, but he thought it was a way to prove a man.
So, they can use war allusions, and think they make sense, right?
My point exactly. My OutrageOMeter shot up when I read that bit about a former staffer making the comparison.
Couple Trump’s narcissism with the adulation of his campaign rallies and you can see why he might have actually believed that it would all be roses and cheers. That just makes him doubly deluded and unfit to be the local dog catcher.
One former staff member likened the aggressive approach of the first two weeks to D-Day…
More like Dieppe.
@Rob #7:
He’s unfit to man the cash register at McDonald’s for that matter…
Wait, I’ve just spotted somefailing Times FAKE NEWS!!! Sad! It said that the events of the first two weeks of the new administration “have Mr. Trump and his top staff rethinking an improvisational approach to governing…” Claiming there was “rethinking” suggests that there was “thinking” to start with. Not a chance!
And Rrr, as far as Trump’s astrologer, They’re not gonna have much to work with; most of the stars all refused to support Trump. It’s going to be hard to divine the future from the celestial comings and goings of Scot Baio….
Clearly.
YNnB @ 10 – Haha yes that’s that subtly sarcastic hyper-courtesy that fake news outlets like the Times like to do.
It’s neither D-Day nor Dieppe, his first fortnight has been more akin to the Charge of the Light Brigade.
AoS, do you mean in the sense of Tennyson (When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! ) or Marshal Pierre Bosquet (C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre. C’est de la folie)?
Bosquet, by a country mile.
I’ve (with some qualifications) previously criticised his supporters (listen, you support a man this utterly, disgustingly unprincipled, don’t expect a lot of sympathy, especially if you don’t even have a particularly miserable lot motivating you, and that’s some of them), but credit where credit’s due, it also looks like some of them, at least, understand it better than him. Not that this would take much. But polls and comments about do now suggest a chunk of those who helped make this mess can see a problem with him trying to rule, as opposed to govern.
It’s… ummm… Not exactly _my_ choice in ways to remind people _why_ you don’t want would-be dictators with no respect for democratic balances in power, though. I mean, you could just _read_ history and _not_ try to repeat it, second time (we hope mostly) farce. Pretty damned expensive and risky civics lesson, this.