President trump has a funny way of dealing with a job he now admits has more complexity than he ever dreamed of. Instead of doubling down and cramming for the tests to come, he goes to Florida, or watches TV or tweets or anything but applying himself to the job he is not being paid to do. Perhaps his excuse is that he is not taking a salary. But that is not exactly the case. Because his business arrangements have ensured that without lifting a finger Mr. Trump will leave the White House, or Florida, vastly richer than he was when he was elected by the thinnest of margins in a contest that is still unresolved.
MO of the President
Laurel Raymond of Think Progress has provided us with a cogent glimpse of the president's MO when it comes to complexity. Trump told Reuters, "I loved my previous life. I had so many things going.This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.” His response has been to make it easier. He spent ten consecutive weekends at his Trump-branded Florida property Mar a Lago. He spent a record-breaking 19 days on the golf course. His White House routine is said to involve a substantial dose of TV, lots of phone calls to his circle beyond the White House, and a good deal of tweeting. a remarkably effortless way to make news with a few keystrokes.
Vacant White House?
With the option of attending seven intelligence briefings a week, the president opts for just one. He has organized things to limit himself to a quarter of the information that his predecessor, Barack Obama, received. Even when he has bestirred himself to write executive orders at a rapid clip they have proved sloppy enough to elicit multiple court judgments that have made them moot.
Trump smoke
There is a good argument that a president who does little or nothing is a blessing. Gerald Ford is remembered as a similarly inactive official. Things went rather well. Unfortunately, in place of solid effort and work Trump has created so much smoke with his casual words that he has literally sucked all the oxygen out of the national room.
Though he does nothing he becomes everything. It is a phantasm.
The president who is not there
Raymond cites the failed Trump health effort as a case in point. She says while the discredited Paul Ryan was engaged in a futile quest for nonexistent votes, Trump was out on the White House lawn honking a trucker's horn and emerging with a photo op. Ronald Reagan was sort of absent as well. But Trump may be the record breaker when it comes to reducing the actual time and effort needed to lead the free world.
