Donald Trump didn't want to be President

[zoogs]

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html

 

@knapplc -- you called it.

 

Even though the numbers in a few key states had appeared to be changing to Trump’s advantage, neither Conway nor Trump himself nor his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — the effective head of the campaign — ­wavered in their certainty: Their unexpected adventure would soon be over. Not only would Trump not be president, almost everyone in the campaign agreed, he should probably not be. Conveniently, the former conviction meant nobody had to deal with the latter issue.

 

It's a game to these people.

 

There are "elites" who are rich Ivy League graduates who genuinely care about doing the work to effect what they think is better policy, whatever that is. And there are these elites: people so insulated from the consequences that they'll run the campaign of an unfit madman because what an adventure.

[knapplc]

There's no upside for The Donald in this. He's not a public servant, he likes to be the king of his castle, and he doesn't like to have his decisions ran through committee. That's the opposite of what a President should be.

 

I never believed he wanted the job.  Now that he's got it, he'll have to figure out how to let go of the tiger's tail without getting eaten.  I give him 50/50 odds of making it out unscathed.

[BigRedBuster]

I firmly believe when he started, he really didn’t want to win. 

 

He literslly tried everything to get people not to vote for him. 

 

Theirs just way too many clueless people in those first primary states. 

[JJ Husker]

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

I firmly believe when he started, he really didn’t want to win. 

 

He literslly tried everything to get people not to vote for him. 

 

Theirs just way too many clueless people in those first primary states this country.

 

FIFY

[Big Red 40]

I really think it was an ego trip. He was used to being the “king” of his financial empire,  in total control . What could be better than that but to be the “king” of the whole USA and arguably the most powerful man in the world . I don’t think he THOUGHT  he would actually win and he was totally unprepared/unqualified  for the job,  but I definitely think he’s enjoying the power of it now  .

Edited January 4, 2018 by Big Red 40

[JJ Husker]

Wowzers! I don’t know exactly what to think of that. It explains so much, makes complete sense and is totally believable while at the same time I can’t actually believe I’m reading it. Definitely going to have to read the book when it comes out. It will be a f#cking miracle if we survive the next 3 years. I really wonder how the Trump supporters can ignore this one. I hate to say it but I really wish somebody would take care of this problem.

[Danny Bateman]

He's enjoying the massive tax cut he and his wealthy family just got for themselves and all the taxpayer/diplomatic dollars flowing into Trump org properties, that's for sure. Anything else is just gravy. 

 

By the time this is over, he'll very likely have personally enriched himself more than any other president in history, sheerly through use of his elected position.

 

It's laughably poor judgment that's millions of salt-of-the-earth Midwesterners, evangelical Christians & Southern conservatives turned out to put this monster in office because Clinton was the corrupt one.

Edited January 4, 2018 by dudeguyy

[teachercd]

No one has wanted it for about 60 years.

[Nebfanatic]

13 minutes ago, dudeguyy said:

He's enjoying the massive tax cut he and his wealthy family just got for themselves and all the taxpayer/diplomatic dollars flowing into Trump org properties, that's for sure. Anything else is just gravy. 

 

By the time this is over, he'll very likely have personally enriched himself more than any other president in history, sheerly through use of his elected position.

 

It's laughably poor judgment that's millions of salt-of-the-earth Midwesterners, evangelical Christians & Southern conservatives turned out to put this monster in office because Clinton was the corrupt one.

His brand is bigger than ever 

[Landlord]

I don't disbelieve that Trump didn't want to be President, but is this supposed to be journalism? None of these claims are sourced.

[JJ Husker]

18 minutes ago, Landlord said:

I don't disbelieve that Trump didn't want to be President, but is this supposed to be journalism? None of these claims are sourced.

 

Did you read through to the end? It’s an excerpt from a soon to be released book. Maybe when the book actually comes out in 6 days there will be more source details? I guess I’m not real sure how well sourced it can be considering he apparently garnered all this through about 200 interviews and spending weeks in the WH. I suppose you could claim it’s all hearsay...?

[TGHusker]

14 hours ago, knapplc said:

There's no upside for The Donald in this. He's not a public servant, he likes to be the king of his castle, and he doesn't like to have his decisions ran through committee. That's the opposite of what a President should be.

 

I never believed he wanted the job.  Now that he's got it, he'll have to figure out how to let go of the tiger's tail without getting eaten.  I give him 50/50 odds of making it out unscathed.

Knapp to your point I add this tidbit:

Trump isn't wired to be President.  This will be his downfall. As you note it takes a certain set of skills, personality, character to pull off the toughest job in the world.  Either he will 'crack up' as the article below notes or he will make such a bad or series of bad decisions due to pressure that it will be obvious to all that he isn't fit - mental health wise to be in the office.

 

I believe that if the Dems gained control of the House and/or Senate they will push for Amendment 25 Article  4 removal immediately.  By that time, there may be a significant # of Repubs who may support their effort - esp with the growing public bent against Trump (as evidence by a Democratic surge in Congress).  While Mueller may be building a detailed case against Trump, proving Trump's involvement and removing him will be a long, difficult strain on the country.  If the Dems and others can create an argument about Trump's fitness that is clear, it may prove to be the easier, less stressful way of moving Trump out of the office.  Ironically, it could also provide an 'out' for Trump himself - if he is ready to go back to being king of his empire after giving himself the Yuge tax cut, he might see 'health' issues as a saving face way of leaving.  However, his Ynormous pride may very well get in the way of taking advantage of this exit opportunity.  He may just decided not to run in 2020 - regardless of his statements to run again. 

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/03/trump-25th-amendment-mental-health-322625

Quote

Lawmakers concerned about President Donald Trump’s mental state summoned Yale University psychiatry professor Dr. Bandy X. Lee to Capitol Hill last month for two days of briefings about his recent behavior.

In private meetings with more than a dozen members of Congress held on Dec. 5 and 6, Lee briefed lawmakers — all Democrats except for one Republican senator, whom Lee declined to identify. Her professional warning to Capitol Hill: “He’s going to unravel, and we are seeing the signs.”

 

Quote

In an interview, she pointed to Trump “going back to conspiracy theories, denying things he has admitted before, his being drawn to violent videos.” Lee also warned, “We feel that the rush of tweeting is an indication of his falling apart under stress. Trump is going to get worse and will become uncontainable with the pressures of the presidency.”

 

Quote

Lee, editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” which includes testimonials from 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts assessing the president’s level of “dangerousness,” said that she was surprised by the interest in her findings during her two days in Washington.

Quote

The conversation about Trump’s fitness to serve is ongoing — and gaining steam after Trump’s tweet this week taunting the leader of North Korea with my-nuclear-button-is-bigger-than-yours bravado.

“Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” the president wrote online Tuesday night.

The tweet resuscitated the conversation about the president’s mental state and the 25th Amendment, which allows for the removal of the president from office if the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet deem him physically or mentally “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

The amendment is purposefully set up to require a high burden of proof, and there is no evidence that Vice President Mike Pence or the majority of Trump’s Cabinet have turned on him. But Trump’s Tuesday night nuclear taunt managed to cause alarm even within his own party.

If there was mounting concern before the New Year about Trump’s mental state among Democrats on the Hill, the tide had been moving in the opposite direction among Republicans. In the final weeks of 2017, with a tax bill sailing toward passage and enough federal court judicial nominees pushed through to successfully reshape the judiciary, Republicans, in general, were moving toward a state of at least semi-acceptance of their unorthodox president. “The tendency was anti-alarmism among Republicans,” said Bill Kristol, editor at large of The Weekly Standard and one of Washington’s leading conservative voices.

That made Trump’s sudden fit of saber-rattling “more jolting,” according to Kristol — and it reopened the national conversation about the president’s mental stability. “I was focused on Iran, and talking to people in the administration about serious policy,” Kristol added, “and then to see in the middle of what might be a serious policymaking process, Trump’s just flipping out.”

 

 

I find this quote to be amazing:  Kristol trying to get the VP's ear via a tweet and a  former GWB official saying the NK nuke tweet that Trump made was grounds alone for removal.
 

Quote

 

On Wednesday, Kristol tweeted: “I trust @VP has asked his Counsel to prepare a draft document transferring power in accord with Sec. 4 of 25th Amendment in case it’s suddenly needed, & that he’s discussed this with COS Kelly.”

A spokeswoman for Pence did not respond to a request for comment.

Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, tweeted on Tuesday of the president’s comments about North Korea, “This Tweet alone is grounds for removal from office under the 25th Amendment. This man should not have nukes.”

 

For 'balance' the article throws in this quote and it is important to consider - we can't remove someone for political reason under the guise of mental health.  Otherwise this could become a trend fit for 3rd world countries.

Quote

Some legal experts warned the conversation about Trump’s fitness could be dangerous to democracy.

“The 25th Amendment would require, for mental incapacity, a major psychotic break,” said former Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz. “This is hope over reality. If we don’t like someone’s politics we rail against him, we campaign against him, we don’t use the psychiatric system against him. That’s just dangerous.

 

”

Summary article from Newsmax

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/professor-mental-health-fit-to-be-president-congress/2018/01/03/id/835024/

[zoogs]

People pointing out that there's nothing here wasn't already fairly obvious -- that he has no conception or intention of executing the duties of office, or that he's regarded as incompetent by those around him. It's still kind of harrowing to read it, especially when you realize all these same people who know Trump is a loon are working for him anyway.

 

If there's on campaign retrospective book to read, though, I would suggest What Happened. While Woolf's book is juicy, we have a pretty clear idea of who and what those people are. I listened to the interview [mp3] finally this morning, and I think insights from the losing party are really illuminating. Especially for those of us grappling with what it means that ours was a country where this could have happened. Where a man like Trump could have not only won the GOP primary, but ran away with it. Where he could not only force a close and contested general election, but win it after a small, late fall in states like Pennsylvania. 

 

Klein is also a great interviewer. This is a valuable listen, especially from a policy perspective.

[knapplc]

Apparently he's spending less and less time on the job, too.

 

Trumpettes think he's going to do this for another term.  I give it 49/51 odds that he doesn't finish his first term - and my biggest "get him out of office" factor will be boredom. He loves the attention and the money he can fleece from America, but he hates the job. 

 

I'd say the biggest factor in keeping him in the White House is fear of prosecution.  If there was no Mueller investigation, I'd say he quits by the end of this year.

 

Quote

 

Trump's secret, shrinking schedule

 

Trump is starting his official day much later than he did in the early days of his presidency, often around 11am, and holding far fewer meetings, according to copies of his private schedule shown to Axios. This is largely to meet Trump’s demands for more “Executive Time,” which almost always means TV and Twitter time alone in the residence, officials tell us.

The schedules shown to me are different than the sanitized ones released to the media and public.

The schedule says Trump has "Executive Time" in the Oval Office every day from 8am to 11am, but the reality is he spends that time in his residence, watching TV, making phone calls and tweeting. Trump comes down for his first meeting of the day, which is often an intelligence briefing, at 11am.

That's far later than George W. Bush, who typically arrived in the Oval by 6:45am. Obama worked out first thing in the morning and usually got into the Oval between 9 and 10am, according to a former senior aide.

Trump's days in the Oval Office are relatively short – from around 11am to 6pm, then he's back to the residence. During that time he usually has a meeting or two, but spends a good deal of time making phone calls and watching cable news in the dining room adjoining the Oval. Then he's back to the residence for more phone calls and more TV. Take these random examples from this week's real schedule:

• On Tuesday, Trump has his first meeting of the day with Chief of Staff John Kelly at 11am. He then has "Executive Time" for an hour followed by an hour lunch in the private dining room. Then it's another 1 hour 15 minutes of "Executive Time" followed by a 45 minute meeting with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. Then another 15 minutes of "Executive Time" before Trump takes his last meeting of the day — a 3:45pm meeting with the head of Presidential Personnel Johnny DeStefano — before ending his official day at 4:15pm.
• Other days are fairly similar, unless the president is traveling, in which case the days run longer. On Wednesday this week, for example, the president meets at 11am for his intelligence briefing, then has "Executive Time" until a 2pm meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister. His last official duty: a video recording with Hope Hicks at 4pm.
• On Thursday, the president has an especially light schedule: "Policy Time" at 11am, then "Executive Time" at 12pm, then lunch for an hour, then more "Executive Time" from 1:30pm.

Trump's schedule wasn't always like this. In the earliest days of the Trump administration it began earlier and ended later. Trump would have breakfast meetings (e.g. hosting business leaders in the Roosevelt Room). He didn't like the longer official schedule and pushed for later starts. The morning intelligence briefing ended up settling around 10:30am. 

Aides say Trump is always doing something — he's a whirl of activity and some aides wish he would sleep more — but his time in the residence is unstructured and undisciplined. He's calling people, watching TV, tweeting, and generally taking the same loose, improvisational approach to being president that he took to running the Trump Organization for so many years. Old habits die hard.

 

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Well before the election, Michael Moore floated pretty much this same theory with plenty of corroborated evidence, including campaign directors who were hired with the directive of winning at least 20% of the vote in certain primary states before a planned withdrawal from the race. Moore was even more specific about the rationale: Trump was using the Presidential election to gain leverage against NBC in his contract negotiations on The Apprentice.