Trump Wanted to Win the Presidency, Not Be President

[no_hypocrisy]

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/21/trump-wanted-to-win-the-presidency-not-be-president/


-snip-

In other words, the guy who can’t sit through a daily intelligence briefing is spending his time obsessing over the results of an election that happened six weeks ago. It will be interesting to watch how long this obsession lasts. But it’s clear that for Donald, running and winning is the game. The job itself is of no interest to him.

-snip-

* * * But even with the win, Trump will eventually have to face the fact that it gave him nothing that he wants, which Keillor nailed with this:

The fans in the arenas are wild about you, and Sean Hannity is as loyal as they come, but Rudy and Christie and Newt are reassuring in that stilted way of hospital visitors. And The New York Times treats you like the village idiot. This is painful for a Queens boy trying to win respect in Manhattan where the Times is the Supreme Liberal Jewish Anglican Arbiter of Who Has The Smarts and What Goes Where…In Queens, blacks were a threat to property values — they belonged in the Bronx, not down the street. To the Times, Queens is Cleveland. Bush league. You are Queens. The casinos were totally Queens, the gold faucets in your triplex, the bragging, the insults, but you wanted to be liked by Those People.

Winning doesn’t change the fact that Trump is nothing more than a narcissistic bully who depends on intimidation to elicit fake respect. That is what he was before the election. When the glow of that victory wears off, it is what he will have to face again.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. It was the ultimate ego trip.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. He wants to be Emperor and Chairman of the Board of the United States.

He'll have Pence and company do all the leg work, and have them assemble before him, and depending on his mood or whether they've sufficiently flattered him, he'll give them the thumbs up or thumbs down.

But all the attention he'll get 24-7 from the media and the international community, he'll never want to give that up.

He'll do very little of substance but he'll still be very much in charge because his ego demands it.

[lastlib]

10. Unfortunately, he's going to get a lot of credit from the GOPhers....

...for doing a LOT of substance! That is the danger to us. Whacking Social Security, Medicare, MedicAid, SNAP, education spending, axing environmental and consumer regulations, scientific/medical research; and of course, sending military spending sky-high, all while giving trillions in tax cuts to his rich pals.

We can't do a damn thing about it. . . . .

[Arkansas Granny]

3. All he wanted was the publicity. When he actually started winning some primaries, his ego wouldn't

allow him to drop out. So now, we're stuck with someone who hasn't the slightest interest in actually doing the work of being President, but see himself as winning the biggest popularity contest ever.

I don't see anything good coming out of this. We are deeply screwed for at least the next 4 years.

[WestSeattle2]

6. He's in it now to enrich himself and his family, that's all. If he can screw minorities, well that's

just icing on the cake for him.

[CrispyQ]

21. This: He's in it now to enrich himself and his family, that's all. -nt

[WestSeattle2]

4. A previous producer on The Apprentice, was quoted as saying how devastating it is to realize

that the show crafted an image of this idiot as some kind of business wonder, when in fact the exact opposite is the case. Apparently, Tweety's business empire was on the verge of yet another collapse, when he stumbled into the Apprentice gig.

The dude definitely has a huge inferiority complex. While I normally consider people's inferiority complexes to be overblown - the world simply doesn't see them as they see themselves - that's not the case with Tweety.

[Kablooie]

5. Can you imagine him being interested in law making?

But commander of the most powerful military in history, that, he might get into.

[keithbvadu2]

30. Staff meeting for the Trump White House

http://www.ibtimes.com/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-gets-drunk-punishes-military-leaders-until-they-cry-2459825

No booze needed for the Donald.

[Cracklin Charlie]

7. Just like his followers.

Win the election, screw the governance.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Amazing perspective

This is not a statesman. It's a Robber Baron

[treestar]

9. so true, this is an ego trip

foisted on us. The Presidency is not like being the ultimate CEO and he was stupid enough not to realize that. Why he ever even did this is a tragedy. And the EC and the locations of just the right voters at the right place is a happenstance that is coincidental with tragic and unlikely results.

[IronLionZion]

11. He likes outlandish speeches at rallies in front of adoring crowds

fawning over everything he says as he encourages them to do violence to other people on his behalf. What could go wrong with electing a Drumpf and his cronies on a platform of bigotry?

He looked into the camera and told his supporters to stop it (committing hate crimes) in his name.

[DetlefK]

12. I think, we all should help the short-fingered molester to come face reality.

[niyad]

24. don't forget the vulgarian part--short-fingered vulgarian molester.

[Dulcinea]

13. I've thought that all along.

I don't think Trump ever thought he would actually be President. He doesn't want the job. He ran to get free publicity for his businesses. And now he's stuck, & so are we. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't last 4 years.

[ginnyinWI]

16. this is what I have been saying, too

There will come a time, sooner or later, when he will be sick of the whole caper and start delegating everything to his underlings.

And at the same time, the GOP will be sick of HIM, and set wheels in motion to remove the big lump.

[berksdem]

14. yup....

I think this is exactly what happened. Nothing more than stroking is bloated ego....

[ginnyinWI]

15. two writers I have loved reading since the election

Garrison Keillor for his wit and perception, and Robert Reich for his smart analysis of the situation.

[maddiemom]

17. The referenced artlce is "spot on," if not at all reassuring. (NT)

[forgotmylogin]

18. Yep, he wanted the win

but not the work. I maintain he won't last over a year, either by his own decision or someone else's.

[no_hypocrisy]

19. "What do we do now?"

[PatSeg]

23. That's what popped into my mind as well

[niyad]

25. exactly

[PoliticAverse]

28. Excellent parallel, excellent movie. n/t

[Pluvious]

20. If only this could end like....

... That fun Robbin Williams movie, Man of the Year !

[PatSeg]

22. It is all a game to him

And the objective is "winning". I don't think he ever imagined BEING president, just winning.

[judesedit]

26. Don't forget, he took us from being the leader of the free world to having a puppet for Putin's

desires for this country. Very, very sad.

[HopeAgain]

27. Don't Underestimate the Power of Egomania

All the fascists and dictators spend more time talking than governing. Castro would spend hours on the television just jabbering on and yet he basically died after 50+ years, still in power. Hitler would give endless speeches.

I predict Trump will spend an inordinate amount of time continuing to travel the country and hold rallies, er, "speeches," replete with privately paid brown shirts who will keep out the people who won't gleefully chant with him. He loves the adulation and apparently a good number of people are willing to give it to him regardless.

This presidency will not be about what gets accomplished, it will be about carefully crafting continued support despite how he governs. He may be an idiot, but a lot of people see him as "their" idiot and that might just work for him while the wheels are coming off the bus.

[MFM008]

29. He's going to be truly

Surprised when he sees massive protests against him and he will care. He will watch. He can't HELP himself.

[TrollBuster9090]

31. Agreed. Here's a snapshot from the Trump Administration, showing Trump, Flynn and Bannon.

Trump is going to be a hands-off, do nothing President. Which (much like Reagan) is a GOOD thing. Remember when the U.S. Navy shot down those Libyan fighter jets, and the Visir (Alexander Haige) didn't even bother to wake him up, and tell him that the USA was in a state of war?

The Trump Administration is going to be run by Bannon, Flynn, Ivanka, and Jarod Kushner. Trump will spend most of his time in New York or Florida, watching TV and tweeting about stuff he saw on Fox News.

[War Horse]

33. People like Trump are never satisfied

Being driven can be a good thing, but not when it's 100 % of your existence.

On the other hand, if he actually proves to be a hands-off president, all the more reason to watch his appointees.

[Duppers]

34. Agreed. Spot-on article. The fact that this man is prez-elect

says more about the IQ of and racism in this country than anything.

Trump is a low-IQ, ADD jerk (not that those traits are usually paired at all). He's desperately trying to appear as something else.

Bet on how long they'll keep him?

[Buns_of_Fire]

35. They'll let him play president indefinitely, so long as he

signs off on whatever crap they have in mind. Any new initiatives won't come from the Trump House (the former White House, renamed during his first term), but from ALEC and the diseased brains of McConnell and Ryan.

[Liberal_in_LA]

36. And his win is permanently tainted by how he wonderful

Now, Donald Trump is about to be president of the United States, which is an actual accomplishment, but after getting there by fomenting racial resentment of white Americans against anyone who did not appear to be as white as they were, nobody Trump used to rub shoulders with wants to hang out anymore. Not even the B-listers. Just Ted Nugent. Always Ted Nugent.

Sure, some of the monied men with potbellies and receding hairlines are still around, but not the A-listers. And the A-list matter to Trump. They always have. But Trump’s deal with the devil to become president, in an instant, robbed him of his celebrity-convening power that he had once used as validation.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/22/donald_trump_is_sad_famous_people_don_t_want_anything_to_do_with_him_anymore.html

[onethatcares]

37. can we

just give him a small trophy and send him home?