Trumps tweets are a distraction. To the Republicans.

[Kaleva]

There have been many credible reports posted here at DU about Repubs in Congress being frustrated about Trump's tweets. They'd rather be on tv talking about advancing their agenda but instead are answering questions about Trump's latest brain flush. Even Trump's WH is constantly being taken by surprise by the twittering twit. Spicer will tell the press the official reason as to why Comey was fired and then a couple days later, Trump turns that upside down with a tweet. We also have reports about Secretary of Defense Mathis and Secretary of State Tillerson figuratively running around the world trying to put out the small brush fires caused by Trump's tweets.

I don't believe for a second that these tweets are being used as a tool to distract us from more important news. Trump has a long history of using twitter to lash out at people or organizations. He hears, reads or sees something that he takes as an attack on him personally and he responds like a junkyard dog. To argue that these tweets are part of plan meant to distract is to assume Trump has more intelligence then I believe he has, if he's doing this all on his own, or to say that his cluster fuck of a WH staff is actually functional enough to plan ahead and to tell Trump what to tweet and when to tweet it.

IMHO, the timing of Trump's twitter feud with Joe and Mika and the breaking of more important news is just coincidence.

[Gravitycollapse]

1. His tweets are a distraction for literally everyone. We are awash in his idiocy.

[montana_hazeleyes]

2. And we thought nothing could get more bizarre

and nuts than when George w. occupied the WH!
All the people who have fought in many ways for this country, millions dying for it, and it has come to THIS!?!

[TheBlackAdder]

3. Trump lashes out at people to reinforce his toxicity to those who might choose to oppose him.

.

He routinely smacks down people to send a signal to others--fall in line or you're next.

.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. The modus operandi is permanent conniving

and that's what the tweets are ... triangulating irritants to get what he wants

No they're not timed, there's just this intuitive chronic spur of the moment mental jujitsu

Rational people don't understand it, not even Republicans who use logic and planning to
advance their warped agenda

So no, I don't agree, I think they are deliberate but not planned or strategized

They are simply what got him to the top, why change now?

[ewagner]

5. Respectfully disagree on one point...

I don't think Republican members of Congress would "...rather be on tv talking about advancing their agenda " than defending tRump...

I think they are very content working in the shadows and ramming the Randian agenda through as quickly as possible because they know that: 1. The Trump regime is not sustainable; it's going to blow up sometime; and, 2.
2018 has the potential of being a bloodbath for Republicans.

[customerserviceguy]

6. I agree

that the Twitter storms are not part of a grand plan. But, the news media runs with them as though they were fresh breaking news, rather than just a part of a long established pattern. It just so happens that when the media focused on all of the stupid things Trump did, it had the effect of sucking the oxygen out of the room, first for fellow GOP challengers, then for Hillary Clinton.

If they'd just stop paying attention to them for a week, they wouldn't be creating the feedback loop that keeps the tweets coming.