Is Donald Trump Already Sick Of A Job He Never Really Wanted?

Three weeks. While it may seem like a year, that’s all that’s gone by since Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States of America. And the chaos that has characterized his short reign is unprecedented. Trump entered the White House with the worst approval rating of any president on record. And it has actually gone down from there.


So reporting from Politico that Trump is “vexed” by the challenges and scale of government doesn’t come as a surprise. He has shown little interest in transitioning from being a private businessman to a national leader. His absence from security briefings, and his fixation on image and polling, reflect a man who isn’t taking his job seriously. However, Politico’s opening paragraph perfectly describes this cognitive disconnect:

“Being president is harder than Donald Trump thought, according to aides and allies who say that he’s growing increasingly frustrated with the challenges of running the massive federal bureaucracy.”

Politico’s sources report that Trump has been surprised and frustrated that running government is not at all like running his business. He doesn’t seem to understand the role of the co-equal branches of government and is angered that he can’t simply do as he pleases. And who could blame him? For all the rhetoric from conservatives, government is not remotely similar to business and cannot be run like one.

To appreciate why Trump is having so much difficulty adapting, we need to look at his past. Donald Trump was born into wealth. All his life he has been able to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. If he felt like jetting to Paris for the weekend, he could. If he was invited to watch the Super Bowl with wealthy friends, no problem. From a business perspective, he could launch a hotel project in Manhattan, or a golf course in Dubai, at will.

Conversely, as president Trump is bound to his office. His duties are not chosen, but thrust upon him. What ever legislation or crisis that lands on his desk demands his attention. And in many cases, those things may not hold any interest for him. Too bad. That’s the job.

What’s more, the trappings of the presidency for him must be stifling. He cannot simply get up and go somewhere when he feels like it. Every presidential outing requires planning, security, and logistics at the destination. There are some places he can’t go at all due to these requirements. And the living arrangements are sub-par from his perspective. The White House is a step down from his gold-encrusted Manhattan penthouse. He can’t travel on his beloved, luxurious private jet.

Given the demands of the job, and the restrictions on his personal freedom, for Trump being president is like prison. And the strains of this “incarceration” are showing in the poorly executed actions he’s taken, and the low morale and in-fighting among his staff. Not to mention his barking at the press and attacks on judges. These cracks in the administration are exposed in Politico’s reporting. Take for example, these excerpts:

“The president and his allies believe career NSC staff assigned from other agencies are out to get them.” […]

“[H]e has also sought refuge from the pressures of the presidency, frequently calling up old friends and sounding them out about golf. […]”

“The interviews paint a picture of a powder-keg of a workplace where job duties are unclear, morale among some is low, factionalism is rampant and exhaustion is running high.”

This doesn’t sound like someone who is comfortable with the new responsibilities he’s taken on. It doesn’t sound like someone who is even interested in doing the job. He sacrificed a lot of the high life and freedom to which he was accustomed. And all for a job that he had never aspired to or shown interest in.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Considering Trump’s impulsive and erratic behavior, might he just decide that the sacrifices aren’t worth it and resign? Perhaps that’s just wishful thinking. But there are signals from Trump and his closest associates that suggest that he’s anxious to escape and return to his prior life of leisure. Why wouldn’t he want to spend his golden years in his golden palace?

Bill Maher Exposes Trump As A Giant Con: ‘It’s Beyond Politics, It’s About Sanity

Speculation about the mental health of Donald Trump is becoming a trending topic. Of course, many people have noticed his malignant narcissism and stifling paranoia for years. His fierce obsession with ego-driven trivialities seems to supersede the obligations of the job.

Bill Maher

The situation is so serious that bills are being drafted by both parties to provide for routine presidential psychiatric exams. It’s not a bad idea for any president, considering the pressures of the presidency. But with the election of Donald Trump it’s been elevated to a critical necessity.

Thursday night CNN aired a program with Van Jones interviewing Bill Maher (video below). The subject of Trump’s mental stability came up when an audience member asked this question:

“The President’s been in office barely three weeks. Why can’t you guys in the media and Hollywood give him some slack?”

First of all, on the day that President Obama was sworn into office in 2009, the Republican leader in the Senate declared that his top priority was to make him “a one-term president.” Shortly thereafter, Rush Limbaugh announced that he wanted Obama to fail. The hypocrisy of Trump supporters now begging for mercy while Trump is pissing on the Constitution, and stuffing his cabinet with racists and billionaires, is ludicrous.

But let’s get back to Maher’s response. He was justifiable surprised by the questioner’s naivete. He mocked the notion that Trump deserved any slack precisely because of “the things he’s said and done.” Then he explained in detail why Trump’s pretense of being for the “little man” is just “a giant con.”

“What does he do? He gets into office, the coal companies can dump sludge in the river. Because, you know, that’s what the ‘little man’ is aching for. Undoing Dodd-Frank. Because so many of the town halls in Appalachia, people were standing up and saying, ‘Mr. Trump, please get rid of the Volcker Rule. Because if I can’t make certain speculative investments, it’s killing us here!'”

And that’s just for starters. Our billionaire president doesn’t appear to have the slightest comprehension of life for average Americans. His promise to repeal ObamaCare will cause twenty million people to lose their health insurance. The Trump tax plan is weighted heavily in favor of his wealthy pals. Plus, estimates say that it will balloon the deficit by up to ten trillion dollars. He has already reversed a regulation that protected citizens from corrupt financial advisers. His education secretary is opposed to public schools. And he appointed an Environmental Protection Agency director who aspires to eliminate the department.

For these, and many other reasons, Maher made the astute observation that:

“It’s beyond politics, it’s about sanity. It’s about somebody who makes stuff up, who doesn’t read. His information is either anecdotal, or pulled out of his … behind.” […] “Of course we’re worried when the President sees multitudes that don’t exist. As in the illegal voting – three million. That should bother you.”

Indeed, it should bother every American. The President proudly lacks the knowledge required to perform his job. And what he lacks in experience, he makes worse by his determination to invent “alternative facts” that affirm his ignorance. His lying, temperamental outbursts, and vanity make him an existential threat to the welfare of the nation. A recent poll shows that, only three weeks into his term, the nation is split on whether to impeach him. The same poll notes that:

“The Presidency has been so diminished over the last 3 weeks that voters even say Saturday Night Live has more credibility than Trump, 48/43.”

So let’s set aside these preposterous pleadings for Trump to be given a chance. He’s had his chance and blown it on an epic scale. From here on out he must be judged on his actual performance. No wonder he and his staff are so worried.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.