We could make this a daily feature since there are so many things I Don't Get. But the one I'm going to write about now is this…
Every day now, there seems to be some story from deep inside the Trump Administration — anonymously sourced — that makes Donald Trump appear to be one or more of the following…
- Shockingly unaware of what he's signing and what policies he's changing. I mean, it's bad if he's doing bad things because he's studied the situation and honestly believes they're good. But even those who think he's a brilliant, great leader have to be appalled if he's signing executive orders without knowing what's in them.
- Insanely obsessed with convincing people — including other world leaders — that he had the biggest victory in the history of elections, trouncing Hillary in the popular vote, getting the biggest turnout ever for his inauguration, etc.
- Childishly vowing that he will get his way 100% of the time and that anyone who opposes him on anything — even if they're with him on most matters — will be destroyed and/or made to apologize.
- Irresponsibly ordering major actions — including military ones — on a near-whim, without bothering to sufficiently plan or to consult with those around him who may be more informed and equipped to plan better or raise questions about the decision.
- And then there's all that stuff about how the Trump brand must not be allowed to suffer. He seems unaware that as his popularity goes down, people become less likely to buy anything associated with him.
Are all these leaked stories true? Naturally, since they fit in with my perception of the man, I'm likely to assume they are. But I don't want to be like some people I've encountered the last few years who'll believe absolutely anything negative, no matter how unsourced or stupid, about Obama, Bill or Hillary, etc.
What I don't get it who's leaking these stories? And why isn't Trump waterboarding members of his staff to find out? Here's one that came out the other day…
In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump denounced a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official with knowledge of the call.
When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, these sources said.
Trump then told Putin the treaty was one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration, saying that New START favored Russia. Trump also talked about his own popularity, the sources said.
Who leaks this kind of thing to the press? And why isn't shutting down such leaks the most important thing in the life of Donald J. Trump at the moment? Even if the story is an out-and-out lie, you'd think he'd be firing back at it a lot more than he has. As it stands, it's another thing that I don't get. Collect 'em all!