NYTimes Must Read!

[pat_k]

Trump and Staff Rethink Tactics After Stumbles
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/us/politics/trump-white-house-aides-strategy.html

There are great bits in every paragraph, but a real kicker is buried about two-thirds of the way down:

Mr. Bannon remains the president’s dominant adviser, despite Mr. Trump’s anger that he was not fully briefed on details of the executive order he signed giving his chief strategist a seat on the National Security Council, a greater source of frustration to the president than the fallout from the travel ban.

DT WAS NOT FULLY BRIEFED?

Bannon shoved an order putting himself on the National Security Council under DT's nose and DT just signed it?!?

Perhaps this was already news, but if it was, I missed it.

More tidbits.

Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room.

Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit.

Around 6:30 p.m... Trump retires upstairs to the residence to recharge, vent and intermittently use Twitter.... When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home.

Cloistered in the White House, he now has little access to his fans and supporters — an important source of feedback and validation — and feels increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job and the constant presence of protests, one of the reasons he was forced to scrap a planned trip to Milwaukee last week.

The scrapped trip is news to me too.

For a sense of what is happening outside, he watches cable, both at night and during the day — too much in the eyes of some aides — often offering a bitter play-by-play of critics like CNN’s Don Lemon.

Visitors to the Oval Office say Mr. Trump is obsessed with the décor — it is both a totem of a victory that validates him as a serious person and an image-burnishing backdrop... He will linger on the opulence of the newly hung golden drapes, which he told a recent visitor were once used by Franklin D. Roosevelt but in fact were patterned for Bill Clinton.

For a man who sometimes has trouble concentrating on policy memos, Mr. Trump was delighted to page through a book that offered him 17 window covering options.

And there is much more.

I suppose what they're reporting is not really surprising given who they are talking about, but the fact it's BEING reported is a surprise.

[spanone]

1. K&R...

[Control-Z]

2. Am I a bad person for smiling

and even giggling a little over some of the excerpts you posted? Love these two:

Around 6:30 p.m... Trump retires upstairs to the residence to recharge, vent and intermittently use Twitter.... When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home.

Cloistered in the White House, he now has little access to his fans and supporters — an important source of feedback and validation — and feels increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job and the constant presence of protests, one of the reasons he was forced to scrap a planned trip to Milwaukee last week.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. Harry Truman called the Oval Office "the crown jewel of the federal penal system"

I still think Trump quits or dies in first 4 years.

[LenaBaby61]

27. I still think Trump quits or dies in first 4 years.

[regnaD kciN]

52. From the passage already quoted...

Cloistered in the White House, he now has little access to his fans and supporters — an important source of feedback and validation — and feels increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job and the constant presence of protests, one of the reasons he was forced to scrap a planned trip to Milwaukee last week.

...you almost wonder whether he'll wind up pulling a Palin and quitting mid-term.

[LenaBaby61]

59. No matter HOW or WHEN he ends up leaving office ...

It'll be in total DISGRACE and mentally, he will more than likely have gone over the edge. This man has a LOT of negative and bad KARMA coming his way IMHO.

I Wouldn't want to be HIM.

[Jim Beard]

41. I haven't heard it mentioned lately but Bess Truman hated living in

the White House. Something about rats?

[brer cat]

44. Must not have been rats

because Kellyanne wasn't around then.

[Jim Beard]

45. Good one!

[pat_k]

50. +1

[Eyeball_Kid]

54. She looks like she rolls around in a bed of meth.

[pat_k]

31. If it's bad, I'm a very evil person.

If DT weren't such a hateful person, his pitiful conduct would evoke, well... pity.

But he is a horrible man. I feel no compassion for him. I take evil delight in the image of him in the Executive Residence, in his bathrobe, bitterly yelling at the TV, or aimlessly wandering around.

And the image of meetings in the dark cabinet room is too wonderful for words.

If only he had listened to his friend Howard Stern. The nation, the world, and DT, would all be FAR better off.

Stern says he warned Trump that he is "not going to be beloved" as president and that taking on the job would be a "nightmare" for the 70-year-old. "I think that he has a very sensitive ego. And when you're president of the United States people are going to be very, very critical."

[Eyeball_Kid]

55. Soon, when the nights warm, Trumpy will wander onto the White House lawn in his bathrobe,

shooing the squirrels and raising his fists at the protesters beyond the fences.

[pat_k]

57. A vivid image to cheer me in these dark days!

[MFM008]

37. Then I'm a really bad person

Because I'm laughing.

[Cha]

3. god.. he lies about the drapes. I know that's miniscule and this really

is an important article.

Cloistered in the White House, he now has little access to his fans and supporters — an important source of feedback and validation — and feels increasingly pinched by the pressures of the job and the constant presence of protests, one of the reasons he was forced to scrap a planned trip to Milwaukee last week.

Can anyone imagine President Obama cancelling a trip because of "pressures of the job" or "protests".. this blotus has no stamina

Or "not being briefed"? The Obama Presidency was a serious Admin

Thank you, pat

[Brother Buzz]

6. To be fair, Harley-Davidson bugged on the visit

They were concerned about their image, the optics, and became uncomfortable hosting him amid planned protests. That's got to leave a mark!

[Cha]

10. Right! Harley

Davidson

That never happened with POTUS either.

[kaotikross]

29. :D

"blotus". OUTSTANDING.

[byronius]

34. 'Blotus' is now my new favorite word. Thanks.

[Cha]

38. You're welcome.. I saw it here awhile

ago and ran with it. it describes his position perfectly

[radical noodle]

4. I don't know if he really can't read

or he just finds it a waste of time. He expects people to do it for him. I am almost sure that family members surround him so much because he is incapable of concentration on anything more than about 60 seconds, less than that if he isn't interested. The window covering pages would have been pictures, I imagine.

[eShirl]

7. remember his family history of Alzheimer's

a family member of mine with Alzheimer's, college educated, over the course of the disease lost the ability to read

[radical noodle]

11. There's that possibility

but I think the lack of reading is pretty life long. Tony Schwartz (Art of the Deal) said trump couldn't concentrate on anything for any time and that he rarely read anything. I doubt he's read the books he supposedly wrote.

It's sad what Alzheimer's does to a wonderful mind. I hope a cure is found some day. I'm so sorry about your family member. It's tough to watch them fade away.

[Blue_Roses]

17. It looks like he has undiagnosed

ADHD. He shows so many classic signs of it. I should know. I live with two kids, a spouse and me, who have it. Some cases are more severe, especially if there is an undiagnosed learning disability like dyslexia. (which often goes hand-in-hand with ADHD)

Trump needs a proper evaluation, which could help him--and us. But, his pride and vanity will never accept that he has a problem. I wish someone could get through to him. He really has no idea how his behavior affects others and how much he embarrasses himself.

[Eyeball_Kid]

56. yes. That's entirely possible.

And it would seem more plausible if Trumpy were a regular or avid reader in his younger years. We'd have to see the contrast. But we don't seem to have the information that Trumpy was any better at reading in his younger years. He may be dyslexic or he's got another kind of neurological problem with visual perception. What we do know is that he's batshit crazy.

[ginnyinWI]

8. if he can't read, or reads with great difficulty,

then people like Bannon are running the show. He will rely on them to tell him what he's signing! Can you imagine!!

How did this pea brain get elected? I know--by other pea brains.

Link to the he-cant-read video: https://www.facebook.com/davidpakmanshow/videos/1373627176015624/

[radical noodle]

15. He was elected because he is a first class flim-flam man

He uses all the tricks... shell game, manipulation, the art of talking in such a way that he says nothing but the person listening infers everything. Look at his businesses, they're smoke and mirrors or simple cons like the University. He gets paid to stamp his name on crap. What's going to happen now that the trump name is crap? They're taking it off the buildings and other stuff. He no longer has selling power with anyone but those who are his dedicated followers... people who couldn't afford half an hour at his overpriced hotels, most of which are in hock to the hilt.

[underthematrix]

19. Trump really can't read. There's a video out there of an apprentice

staffer clearly stating Trump can't read and sharing a story about how Trump couldn't read a script. Realit TV show sually don't use big words or involve complex ideas.

[madaboutharry]

5. Trump is out of his depth.

Everyone knows it. I think he knows it too. There is a little voice whispering in his ear, well hounding him actually, that tells him he has no clue and that everyone, including people in The White House, thinks he is clueless.

[ginnyinWI]

9. I think a narcissist is really low in self esteem

Otherwise why do they have to seek constant affirmation from others? They have no core. They can't bear to be insulted or ignored. Have to be constantly surrounded by praise and respect.

[madaboutharry]

13. Becoming President, in my opinion,

will end up ruining his life. He can not cope with the stress, the responsibility, the criticism, the lack of freedom. His poll numbers are the worst and every day thousands of Americans demonstrate against him.

And he can't do anything to change it because he can't change.

One of the reasons I think Melania looks so miserable is because not only does it seem that she finds him repulsive, she knows who he is and that he can't do the job.

[ginnyinWI]

14. you got that right!

He isn't going to be able to weasel or con or lie or exaggerate his way out of this one! What's he gonna do, sue somebody? lol

Schadenfreude!

I'm actually not too worried about our country, either. We are bigger than him. I didn't believe Obama that day, but he is right when he said that "this", meaning Trump, was just a "comma" in the history of our great nation.

Obama's legacy will hold. The ACA will remain. People are now used to the idea of guaranteed healthcare and it will be damn hard to get rid of it now.

DT is going to hurt the GOP severely, once enough people ( on the right ) realize what he is.

[uponit7771]

36. "What's he gonna do, sue somebody" I give it less than a year

[joshcryer]

12. Trump's administration makes House of Cards look like Historical Accuracy.

It's so beyond absurd.

[angrychair]

16. Crazy

So...so...sad.

[TreasonousBastard]

18. Been reading the Times every day and for weeks they have been trashing Trump...

I'm not sure how much longer he can handle it.

My personal favorite is last weeks EO allowing coal mines to dump into rivers.

Love how he admits he doesn't read what he signs-- now we have another clue why his businesses fail. Can't wait until that bites him in the ass.

[pat_k]

49. Anything DT doesn't like is erased or rejected as false.

He doesn't handle it. Any report of wrongdoing, any statistic that doesn't fit his narrative, any historical event that is not to his liking, and any real or perceived slight against himself, his actions, his business, his structures, his circle, his family, his show, his whatever, is either a lie or doesn't exist at all.

DT lives in a world of his own creation.

In DT world, DT wins lawsuits against him (regardless of verdict).

PBS: The Choice: 2016

This is a classic example of where Trump begins to demonstrate something he talks about all the time today, which is he’s a counterpuncher. So somebody comes after him and says that he’s done something nefarious and horrible, and he just goes back at them with all guns blazing — you know, Boom, boom, boom! — and admits nothing. Never admit anything. Never say you made a mistake. Just keep coming. And if you lose, declare victory.

And that’s exactly what happened there. He lost as clearly as you can lose {discrimination case}, but he loudly proclaimed his victory.

In DT world, DT buildings are taller than anything else around (regardless of actual relative height).

NYTimes: Donald Trump’s Math Takes His Towers to Greater Heights

Claimed floors/Actual Floors
240 Riverside Blvd 41/31
Trump Tower 68/58
Trump World Towers 90/70

DT even "made" TT "the tallest in the niegborhood" by chopping off part of another building in a small scale model).

In 1979, as Mr. Trump inspected a model of the black-and-gold Fifth Avenue high-rise that would come to serve as his home, office, fortress and personal monument, he could find only one flaw to spoil the moment: the General Motors building, which, in real life, was 41 feet higher and a few blocks away from the future Trump Tower.

Mr. Trump marked the G.M. building at his preferred height with a pencil. Mr. Brosterman sawed off the top third, leaving Trump Tower — in the one-thirty-second-scale model, at least — the tallest in the neighborhood.

Though the tower was built with 58 floors, Mr. Trump later explained to The New York Times that because there was a soaring pink marble atrium and 19 commercial floors at the bottom, he could see no good reason not to list the first residential floor as the 30th floor. The pinnacle became the 68th — the height that appears in marketing materials, online search results and news articles to this day.

The examples are endless.

I challenge anyone to find a SINGLE instance that DT admitted defeat, admitted error, admitted facts that ran counter to his declarations of reality. The closest things i can find are instances in which reversed himself and then denied that he ever claimed otherwise.

I suppose his ability to push reality out of his consciousness may need constant reinforcement from sycophants and supporters who share his delusions -- support that may start breaking down -- but I have a feeling that DT world will remain real to DT, and his inflated ego will remain as puffed up as ever.

[vlyons]

20. What a sad little man

Doesn't sound like there's much joy and commaraderie in the WH these days

[zentrum]

21. Very frightening. He's

.....clearly headed towards madness and the article shows how, by limiting his access to interpretations of reality, those around him can control the country more and more, but invisibly, in the shadows.

We have a Government and and then we have an Alt-Government and we need to realize that this is what is happening.

Far worse and more dangerous than when Bush was a puppet for Cheney.

[Beartracks]

23. "Fully briefed"? I thought EOs were fairly short. He doesn't read what he signs?

Wow. Trump's a tool in his own (or Bannon's, rather) Administration.

====================

[elleng]

24. Not briefed on details of EO he SIGNED!!!

Aides confer in the dark!
obsessed with the décor!
17 window covering options!

THANKS for this! After watching The West Wing, this post is ICING ON THE CAKE!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

25. So Bannon is POTUS and the Donald is FLOTUS.

[shraby]

26. Interesting.

[Hekate]

28. Mad King Donald Misses his Golden Tower. Somehow I think the imprisoned queen doesn't miss him....

Bet the little prince doesn't either.

[Satch59]

30. Frightening...

That he retreats at 6:30 and just watches TV?? Obama would spend hours every night reading briefings/policy stuff...like actually DO his job... Trump really has no clue and seems to be cracking already and hasn't even faced congress actually governing his "policies" which most won't get through...

Hope the NY Times keeps up the reporting...

[grantcart]

32. I read today that Bannon is recommending Halberstam's "Best and the Brightest"

to the senior staff to guard against hubris.

Either he reads it without comprehension or he will commit suicide.

[niyad]

46. suicide was exactly the word that came to mind.

[drm604]

33. Anyone else think of the scenes in MASH

where Radar would hand Henry sheet after sheet and Henry would dutifully sign them without reading?

[niyad]

47. yes

[uponit7771]

35. Bullshit blame the minions excuses from Benedict Donald

[egold2604]

39. So it was Bannon that gave him the EO mandating Pi as 3.0

By the power vested in me by my overwhelming win in the Electoral College and would have won majority in the popular election if not for the illegals voting for that Harpy that I will eventually throw in jail, I hereby declare that Pi now equals 3.0 based on biblical principles. Too many decimal places to memorize. Besides, the Trinity is 3, not 3.14.

[dalton99a]

40. Pence will do that

He'll recycle the Indiana Pi Bill

[BSdetect]

42. Wait, is he still POTUS?

I must be in a twilight zone. Do they intend to let this moron destroy us with his stupidity over 4 years?

[pat_k]

43. Or maybe we're trapped in a bizarre national "Reality" Show.

I can just hear the showrunner's voice, "Let's see what they do if we have DT {insert insane thing crazier than last insane thing}."

[Amaryllis]

48. Guessing that even if he wanted to resign, whatever Russia has on him requires him to stay.

[Guilded Lilly]

51. He is the Leader of the Free Cretins.

[Rex]

53. So Dumb Dumb was signing executive orders and really didn't know what they were?

I was joking!

[MFM008]

58. but didnt spicer say

"he doesn't even 'OWN' a robe". What a LIAR. Damn near everyone has a robe, or housecoat, as poor as I am and I have 2.
Sick of these liars, and anyone notice its always the small stupid stuff that he gets the testiest about??