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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Is Trump Losing His Marbles? And If He Does, Will His Staff Keep Him From The Nuclear Codes?

Image result for trump playing with toys
Dear Ed,

Thanks for your email.

I was unaware of the Tribune article and just now added it to my rapidly-expanding post about Donald's emotional instability 
and mounting speculation over his pending crack-up. 

I am persuaded that Trump's crazed followers elected The Deplorable One because he was the only candidate who truly reflected the depth of their lunacy/mendacity making him the only person they could trust to be true to "The Mission " of their collective insanity: Deny reality, deny informed rationality, deny science, deny humankind's common humanity, deny that we are living in an increasingly inter-related world while simultaneously erecting walls, digging trenches and expanding Uncle Sam's firepower "to teach 'em a thing or two" - all of which reflects a deep-seated (and impossible) urge to return to an earlier, simpler, "whiter" time... or, if Armageddon is triggered, an earlier evolutionary time when "men were men," "women were women" and "dominance-submission hierarchies" based on brute force were as self-evidently true as America's foundational belief that all (wo)men are created equal.

Now - if spreading reports are true - it appears "chickens are coming home to roost" and "the mad man"--  elected by "mad men" -- is going off the deep end. 

Or more accurately stated, all the mad men are starting to realize they've always been off the deep end. And there, out-of-their-depth and unable to touch bottom, they flail about... how to describe it? ... they flail about exactly like mad men.

Although this seems good news politically, there is "the inconvenient bit" about nuclear codes. 

Conservative Christians Prefer Armageddon To Loss Of Preeminence. Since Armageddon Is "God's Plan," Why Not Hasten "His" Intervention? | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
White Christian Despair And Armageddon As A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

"Corpse Evangelists" And The End-Time Decadence Of Make-Believe Christians

Recalling our friends at Managua's Soviet Embassy, did you see Mikhail Gorbachov's recent appraisal?

Mikhail Gorbachev: "It All Looks as if the World Is Preparing for War"


Paz contigo

Alan

PS Fran V, who loathes Trump beyond reach of hyperbole, becomes almost tender when she refers to him -- as she often does -- as a "child" or "a 12 year old boy." Which calls to mind another parallel between Trump and his followers... Their development was arrested in middle school when bullying, shaming and menacing pecking orders are at their developmental peak. And like middle-schoolers, their brains are not yet fully "wired" so they make impulsive decisions unable to foresee evident consequences. 


On Fri, Jan 27, 2017 at 8:46 PM, EM wrote:

Hola Alan,

VERY interesting this is even "published" ... recognition of the facts...  Ed


A Perfect Fit Mad Man Elected By Mad Men | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
White House leaks cast Trump as a clueless child
All White Houses leak. Sometimes the leaks are big, sometimes small. But there are always people willing to talk to reporters about the "real" story or about why the chief executive made a mistake in regards some decision he made.
That said, I've never seen so much leaking so quickly — and with such disdain for the president — as I have in the first six days of Donald Trump's presidency.
Two recent examples:
1. This from The New York Times Thursday on Trump's impulsiveness:
"Mr. Trump's advisers say that his frenzied if admittedly impulsive approach appeals to voters because it shows that he is a man of action. Those complaining about his fixation with fictional voter fraud or crowd counts at his inauguration, in their view, are simply seeking ways to undercut his legitimacy.
"Yet some of his own advisers also privately worry about his penchant for picking unnecessary fights and drifting off message. They talk about taking away his telephone or canceling his Twitter account, only to be dismissed by a president intent on keeping his own outlets to the world."
2. This from The Washington Post on Trump's inauguration crowd estimates:
"Trump's advisers suggested that he could push back in a simple tweet. Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a Trump confidant and the chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, offered to deliver a statement addressing the crowd size.
"But Trump was adamant, aides said. Over the objections of his aides and advisers — who urged him to focus on policy and the broader goals of his presidency — the new president issued a decree: He wanted a fiery public response, and he wanted it to come from his press secretary."
Time and again, the image of Trump pushed by his "aides" is one of a clueless child — someone who acts on impulse, disregarding the better advice of people who know better. We know he needs to be managed or else he will say and do stupid things, the message seems to be. We're working on it.


And, what we know about Trump from his presidential campaign is that some of his top staffers — most notably Kellyanne Conway — often communicated to the boss via the media. What that strategy suggests is that Trump is influenced at least as much — and, in truth, likely more — by reading the sniping of his aides on background (meaning without their names attached) in the news than he is by private conversations. That the best way to reach him, change his mind or otherwise bend his ear is through a public airing of grievances.
Trump has shown that his tendency to obsessively consume media — especially cable television — is unchanged in the six days since he has become president. He appears to be making policy decisions via things he watches or reads. (Remember Trump's famous/infamous statement that he got his military information and advice "mostly from the shows.")
At odds with all of this, however, is the fact that Trump is both deeply proud and hugely image conscious. Having to read and watch allegedly loyal "aides" casting him as a sort-of feckless child constantly in need of guidance wouldn't seem to be the sort of thing that would sit well with him.
Tim Miller, a former spokesman for Jeb(!) Bush's presidential campaign and a frequent Trump critic, summed that sentiment up nicely:
"Trump doesn't seem like the type who will enjoy his advisors talking about him like he's a child to the New York Times for long."
It doesn't take much imagination to conjure up an image of an irate Trump surrounded by the various clips of his aides driving the perception that he badly needs to be managed at every moment. If Trump's entire #brand is centered on being the best/classiest/smartest, these sort of leaks fundamentally undermine that image. And, we're only six days into his presidency!
The frequency — and nature — of these leaks are yet another reminder that the Trump presidency is nothing like anything that's come before it. There is no blueprint. We're through the looking glass.
But my educated guess is that these leaks must be driving Trump absolutely crazy. And when he gets mad, history suggests he will try to get even. And quickly.
Washington Post
Chris Cillizza writes "The Fix," a politics blog for The Washington Post.
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