Trump Says He Thought Being President Would Be Easier Than His Old Life.

[Cuppy]

Say what you want, but the man is an accomplished showman. Its how he's thrived for decades as an on-paper businessman but in-practice entertainment personality/force of nature. Look at the election, he can pack a hall and play to a crowd, and as much as I dislike him there's no denying that.
If the Republicans were smart they would have figured out how to somehow rope him into accepting a VP nomination (though on the list of blown opportunities of the '16 election, that one's a ways down the list). Harness his charisma and grassroots followers who he brought out in droves but have at least SOME bulwark against his impulsive nonsense.

Showman is suitable for presidency as much as clown is suitable as surgeon.

[CostinR]

You mean the person with no experience in government discovered that running the government is an absolute nightmare in a hyper-partisan environment?

Shocking I know.

I think he was especially ill-prepared for the foreign policy mess he was left with by the moronic trio of Clinton-Bush-Obama. Everything from Russia to the Middle East to China to North Korea that Trump has to deal with is on those idiots.

Thankfully Trump has decided to go about it the same way he went about it in his business life: Delegate as much as possible to people under him.

Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, Dan Coats and H.R. McMaster have a damned good idea of what they're facing and what is required to deal with these problems.

[Annu]

At least Trump is honest.

People should stop picking on every word he says. Trump is president now for 4 years and we should start judging him on what he can achieve. It is completely irrelevant if he says something stupid on Twitter, what really matters is which political goals he can achieve.

If people in the US think Trump is bad, they should take a closer look at the European Commission. Trump might not be super intelligent, but at least he is not a lame duck.

[RaoBurning]

At least Trump is honest.

This would be more comforting if he had any semblance of principle to put on display.

People should stop picking on every word he says. Trump is president now for 4 years and we should start judging him on what he can achieve. It is completely irrelevant if he says something stupid on Twitter, what really matters is which political goals he can achieve.

Until he gets Seoul leveled by North Korean artillery or spills some top secret intel about military operations/force locations at 2 AM, sure.

If people in the US think Trump is bad, they should take a closer look at the European Commission. Trump might not be super intelligent, but at least he is not a lame duck.

I know it's early, but he's pretty much 0/x on his campaign goals. I'm grateful, because his goals are largely horrible, but it's still pretty ducky. Keep swimming, Cheetoh-kun.

[ati87]

At least Trump is honest.

People should stop picking on every word he says. Trump is president now for 4 years and we should start judging him on what he can achieve. It is completely irrelevant if he says something stupid on Twitter, what really matters is which political goals he can achieve.

If people in the US think Trump is bad, they should take a closer look at the European Commission. Trump might not be super intelligent, but at least he is not a lame duck.

Trump is honest? Huge difference between being honest and uninformed.

And what's wrong with the EC? Pretty effective in what they do but that last part is all over the place, you started with the EU but ended up with how Trump isn't smart and how he isn't a lame duck, whatever that means, since you aren't providing context in this case.

[Deletedaccount1]

You mean the person with no experience in government discovered that running the government is an absolute nightmare in a hyper-partisan environment?

Shocking I know.

I think he was especially ill-prepared for the foreign policy mess he was left with by the moronic trio of Clinton-Bush-Obama. Everything from Russia to the Middle East to China to North Korea that Trump has to deal with is on those idiots.

Thankfully Trump has decided to go about it the same way he went about it in his business life: Delegate as much as possible to people under him.

Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, Dan Coats and H.R. McMaster have a damned good idea of what they're facing and what is required to deal with these problems.

This is a good post.

Edit: But to be fair, Trump played a part in why the government is more of a nightmare and hyper-partisan than 2 or 3 years ago. I can't say for certain if it would be as divisive with a different Republican president.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

Showman is suitable for presidency as much as clown is suitable as surgeon.

I don't disagree, but I was responding to someone suggesting that Trump wasn't suited to anything, and I say he's suited to being a showman. I in no way intended to imply that meant he was suited to the Presidency.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

If it was anyone but Trump I might say this is something he could learn from and get better from. But it is Trump. So all we will get is the typical blame game and misdirection bullshit as a grown man whines about others being the problem and we all see him never being the solution.

[CostinR]

This is a good post.

Edit: But to be fair, Trump played a part in why the government is more of a nightmare and hyper-partisan than 2 or 3 years ago. I can't say for certain if it would be as divisive with a different Republican president.

As my favorite orange man would say: WRONG!

Trump took advantage of a hyper-partisan environment to win the nomination of the Republican Party and then the presidency but he didn't create it. It existed before him and even before the 2012 Election which was extremely divisive in the Republican party.

The real problem of partisanship isn't the one between Republicans and Democrats, it's the deep partisanship within each party.

On the Republican side you've got the conservatives outright accusing the centrists and moderates of treason because they refuse to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, cut the EPA, destroy the Department of Education and cut taxes, regulations and completely repeal Obamacare. If the Republicans did any of those things however they'd lose their majorities in both House and Senate but the conservatives don't give a damn.

It's no coincidence that the Republican primary fight came down to Ted Cruz vs Trump with many Republican voters not backing Trump because he wasn't a "real conservative". Meaning he didn't go far enough in their minds, not that he wasn't a moderate.

It's a fine line that any Republican leader has to walk, something Mike Pence did very well as governor and now as VP. Something Trump does with his wall circus as President: Call it a defeat, but Trump walks away signing a budget that cuts nothing, gives him increased spending on the border and walks away with his reputation and approval among Republican voters completely intact even though he's signing a bill that increases the deficit and doesn't cut Planned Parenthood.

That's getting away with murder as a Republican.

As for the Democrats. Obama and Biden were charming and very capable at walking a damned good line between the various interests of the Democratic Party but now they've got a lot of problems and the party purity demands of the left will severely hamper them in the coming elections. It's already affecting the current special elections and will have an exceptionally negative impact in 2018.

[Annu]

Trump is honest? Huge difference between being honest and uninformed.

And what's wrong with the EC? Pretty effective in what they do but that last part is all over the place, you started with the EU but ended up with how Trump isn't smart and how he isn't a lame duck, whatever that means, since you aren't providing context in this case.

What? The EC is effective? What drugs are you taking?

[ati87]

What? The EC is effective? What drugs are you taking?

What a wellrounded argument, you should definitely join the debate team!

I mean making claims and not putting any arguments fort and instead just responding with accusation of drug use.

[LMuhlen]

I actually think he is very smart and a sociopath. He has no commitment with the truth and will do or say anything that gets him where he wants to go. He wanted to be president? He'll say and do whatever gets him there. He will lie and manipulate with zero respect for his people and you should all be a bit ashamed for being played by him, giving what he wants and getting nothing in return. But no need to be too ashamed, because you've been played by a major player, you had no chance, you were not prepared.

Is he playing the idiot card? Then that'll get him what he wants somehow. I'm just not sure what it is. But I believe we are all being played again. Maybe he wants to be underestimated? Maybe he wants diversion so he can do his dirty biddings in secrecy?

Don't underestimate him. He knows what he wants and how to get there and has no remorse and will do whatever it takes.

[melodramocracy]

At least Trump is honest.

People should stop picking on every word he says. Trump is president now for 4 years and we should start judging him on what he can achieve. It is completely irrelevant if he says something stupid on Twitter, what really matters is which political goals he can achieve.

If people in the US think Trump is bad, they should take a closer look at the European Commission. Trump might not be super intelligent, but at least he is not a lame duck.

This is a fantastic summary of how low the bar is set for Trump.

What he says doesn't matter, because even in telling complete works of fiction (Mx paying for the wall, Hilary being put in jail, ISIS gone in 30 days, etc, no time for golfing, gladly releasing tax returns), he's being honest.

This man could literally shit himself on a daily basis, and his devout would be happy that he had the forethought to put a diaper on.

[Slybak]

I actually think he is very smart and a sociopath.

The man is a moron.