For President Trump, the nation's upheaval is personal
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
He sees himself as victim of pandemic, economy and unrest, allies say
Callers on President Trump in recent weeks have come to expect what several allies and advisers describe as a "woe-is-me" preamble.
The president rants about the deadly coronavirus destroying "the greatest economy," one he claims to have personally built. He laments the unfair "fake news" media, which he vents never gives him any credit. And he bemoans the "sick, twisted" police officers in Minneapolis, whose killing of an unarmed black man in their custody provoked the nationwide racial justice protests that have confounded the president.
Gone, say these advisers and confidants, many speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations, are the usual pleasantries and greetings.
Instead, Trump often launches into a monologue placing himself at the center of the nation's turmoil. The president has cast himself in the starring role of the blameless victim - of a deadly pandemic, of a stalled economy, of deep-seated racial unrest, all of which happened to him rather than the country.
Trump put his self-victimization on public display Thursday in response to a Supreme Court ruling rejecting his claim of absolute immunity and permitting a New York prosecutor to see the president's private and business financial records.
Trump reacted with a social media meltdown, writing on Twitter, "PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!" and "POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!" He wrote that the decision was "Not fair to this Presidency" and claimed that "Courts in the past have given 'broad deference'. BUT NOT ME!"
Trump has always exhibited a healthy ego and his self-victimization tendencies are not a new phenomenon, according to those who have known him over the years. But those characteristics have been especially pronounced this summer, revealing themselves almost daily in everything from private conversations to public tweets as the pandemic continues to upend daily life across America and threaten the president's political fortunes.
Barbara Res, a former executive at the Trump Organization, said that when she worked for Trump, he interpreted nearly everything in deeply personal terms.
"Whatever bad happened, no matter what it was, it was always against him, always directed at him," Res said. "He would say, 'Why does everything always happen to me?' "
She added: "It was as if the world revolved around him. Everything that happened had an effect on him, good or bad."
Now, however, Trump's sense of victimhood strikes even some allies as particularly incongruous considering the devastation wrought by the pandemic and the pain and anguish apparent in Black Lives Matter protests.
More than 130,000 Americans so far have died of the novel coronavirus, with more than 3 million cases reported. Nearly 43 million Americans - more than a quarter of the labor force - have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic began. And the nation is riven not just by protests following the death of George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed in Minneapolis police custody, but also by a president who has deliberately stoked racial animus.
Even those in Trump's orbit are trying to nudge him toward a sunnier, less egocentric approach to the crises he is facing, fearing that his sullen demeanor could backfire politically. Among those internally who have advocated a more optimistic tone are Alyssa Farah, the White House communications director, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, according to one senior administration official.
Other top White House advisers - including Hope Hicks and Dan Scavino - have also sought to buttress Trump's mood with events they thought he would enjoy, such as celebrating truckers by bringing 18-wheelers onto the White House South Lawn in mid-April or creating social media videos that feature throngs of his adoring fans, according to aides.
Advisers also have sought to boost Trump's mood by presenting him internal polling that shows him in a better position than public surveys, which universally show him trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
One senior administration official rejected the notion that Trump views himself as a victim, saying instead that he has repeatedly expressed his frustration over a virus that seemed to emerge out of nowhere and has ravaged the country, and that his only concern is for the victims of the pandemic. A second official said that the president is most frequently speaking about how the country collectively has been victimized by the virus.
The first official added that Trump, as a former businessman, is especially well-suited for this unprecedented moment of crisis, and has demonstrated his management abilities by making the decision early on to shut down some travel from China and by waiving regulations to rush coronavirus therapeutics to the market.
"The United States of America did not ask for this plague and every American has been affected from the closure of our economy to caring for the sick and mourning those tragically lost, but under the leadership of President Trump our Transition to Greatness has already begun, and the American people are showing tremendous courage to defeat the virus, responsibly open the economy, and restore law and order to our streets," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email statement. "The President's message has been consistent: resilience, hope, and optimism."
Jen Psaki, former communications director in the Obama White House, agreed with private assessments that the president's complaining could be costly.
"I don't think he has many sympathetic ears to his claims that he's been mistreated," Psaki said. "Leadership, as we've seen at many moments in history, is about not only accepting adulation when you do something great but also accepting responsibility. That lack of accepting responsibility is seen as a lack of leadership and that doesn't sit well with people who might be more open to supporting him again."
At times, though, Trump can't seem to help himself, said people who have spoken with him in recent weeks, describing him as shellshocked and sullen about his declining fortunes even as he continues to insist he will ultimately win in November.
"We had the greatest economy in the world," Trump said in an Oval Office meeting last month, talking about how good the statistics were before the coronavirus, said one adviser. An outside adviser in frequent touch with the White House offered a similar recollection, saying that Trump simply keeps on repeating, "I had this great economy and they made me shut it down."
Another adviser who chatted with Trump about a month ago said the president opened with a lengthy rant expressing animus toward reporters - with Trump citing individual names of journalists and specific stories, particularly those about the coronavirus recovery. This person added that Trump also railed about pollsters being out to get him and deliberately sampling the wrong voters, and complained he was being blamed for protests that he had nothing to do with.
A third outside adviser in frequent touch with the White House said that in a recent conversation, the president seemed almost "inconsolable" and summed up Trump's riff: Gripes about the great economy he built, now felled by the virus, and also how "some stupid cop in Minneapolis kneels on someone's neck and now everyone is protesting."
The president has also complained to political advisers that the media blames him for the protests in the wake of Floyd's death, and that no matter what he says, "it is not enough."
To some of his longtime advisers, the president has seemed tired, low-energy and lacking the passion and energy that defined him when he was a candidate during the 2016 race. Aides noticed he largely read his script at Mount Rushmore and did not veer off the teleprompters for high-energy riffs like he usually does when delivering political speeches.
He has been spending an inordinate amount of time watching television news and has been scrambling for ways to fire up his base and keep his loyalists supportive, with little in the way of a set daily schedule.
"Every guy that talks to him, the first half of the conversation is, 'Woe is me,' " said one of the outside operatives, speaking anonymously to share private details. "They're all saying, 'You've got to snap out of it. You're the president. Presidents are supposed to deal with crises.' But he's fixated."
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and author of the forthcoming book, "Strongmen," a history of authoritarian leaders, said Trump's victimization complex fits a pattern of authoritarian leaders past and present.
"They have no empathy, and they only see the world through how things affect them personally," Ben-Ghiat said. "They're not there to govern. They're there to enrich themselves, they're there to plunder the nation, and they're there to be world historical."
Some officials and advisers, however, say they are encouraged that Trump in recent days has gotten into a more optimistic mind-set, where he sees a path to victory and is ready to work toward it. The president just approved a calendar through the beginning of August that includes coronavirus-focused events, economic events and, they hope, a return to regular political events. Trump had planned to hold a campaign rally in an airport hangar in Portsmouth, N.H., on Saturday night, but it was postponed because of weather. The White House said it would be rescheduled for a week or two from now.
June was a tough month for both the country and the president, the senior official said, but Trump's celebration in South Dakota in advance of July 4 represented something of an unofficial turning point, as aides hope the president will refocus on several top priorities.
The key themes for coming weeks, the official added, are rebuilding the nation's economy, continuing to fight the virus and continuing to secure communities, which will encompass the aftermath of the protests. There may also be some actions intended to show toughness against China.
The president's mood had also improved as he focused on the fight over whether to rename or tear down statues named after Confederate generals and other controversial historical figures. Aides say he believes a battle over such symbols will help him politically.
Despite his bouts of moroseness, Trump can also exhibit optimism not entirely grounded in reality. He has continued to tell advisers, for instance, that he is certain the virus will go away by October and that there will be a "cure" by then - a word he favors over "vaccine."
Then, he adds in these tellings, the economy will rebound overnight and he will win a second term.
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The good economy was never Trump's. It was Obama's.
There never was an Obama recovery.
I guess they think 1 percent or less quarterly GDP is some sort of victory.
And when has the Trump economy exceeded a 2.9% annual GDP?
In 2018 when it was 2.93.
Best in 8 years Obama did was 2.8 in 2015.
Much of the left and their mass media propaganda arm have done everything in their power to make Trump the antagonist. Make no mistake about that.
Sorry John, some of us are actually paying attention to what’s going on.
Getting back to reality....
It needs to be repeated that the pandemic is not Trump's fault. Yes, it got off to a slow start, as happens during any national emergency, but the proper steps were soon taken to enable medical experts and medical equipment suppliers to establish supply chains, the methods and means of testing, and researching for cures and vaccines. It's doubtful that any other administration could have done a better job of this than Trump's.
It also needs to be repeated that the economy's downturn is not Trump's fault. This was mainly due to the hysterical reporting by the media and the draconian measures decreed by mostly left wing governors and mayors. Even with new cases daily, the economy is making a remarkable rebound, while the media continues to fan the flames of hysteria and panic. Thankfully, most American citizens aren't biting on the propaganda and going on with their lives...since the death rate from this pandemic is very low...comparable in fact to the seasonal flu.
This outbreak would end sooner if the authorities protect and isolate the vulnerable and ill elderly population (perhaps 5-10%), and let the rest of the people go on about their business and interact with others and build herd immunity the old fashioned way. Finally, I wonder what the death rate from the seasonal flu has been this season and now many cases of it have wrongly been diagnosed as Covid-19?
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It's doubtful that any other administration could have done a better job of this than Trump's.
Ahem... Even Bush would have done better than Trump. As hard as that is to believe...
Pray tell...give your reasons for making such an absurd statement.
Would you have us believe an Obama, Clinton (either one), or Biden (heaven forbid) administration could have done a better or swifter job of organizing the recovery efforts and getting them up to speed like Trump did! They likely would still be holding hearings about what to do next and making the whole thing political instead of acting in the interests of the people.
I know it does sound absurd that Bush would have performed better, but compared to the complete disaster that is Trump, you have to know it's true.
In response to whether other administrations aside from Bush, including a Biden administration, would have performed better, the answer is, of course they would have. Beyond the slightest doubt. Everyone knows it, and you know it, too. (Adopting you Dear Leader's phraseology so you can fully relate.)
As far as who would, or has made things political... You have a really good sense of humor. That is just hilarious!
Your comments are based on political biases and emotions instead of political facts.
Since we can't make comparisons amongst other administrations you are entitled to uninformed and invalid opinions.
I love how Trumpists complain about the opposition basing their opinions on "emotions", when your Dear Leader bases all of his on how he feels in his "gut". Really, very amusing.
Umm... didn't you make comparisons amongst other administrations? Or did we just step through the looking glass?
Correction, ABSOLUTELY NO LEADERSHIP from the now White Trash House.
And Bezos fight with Trump is personal and he's been using the Post to attack Trump from day one. Follow the money and you will find the real reason behind these WP hit pieces.
"The most recent poor decision is the plan of attack Amazon has chosen after losing the Pentagon’s $10 billion cloud computing JEDI contract. Amazon’s appeal of that decision now officially hinges on the claim that President Donald Trump held a personal bias against Bezos, and by extension Amazon, because Bezos owns the Washington Post, which publishes unflattering news about him."
There is nothing flattering to post about the turd in chief.
The Trumpist American Carnage is very personal...
It is obvious that donald doesn't really care about people getting sick, as long as he can tout the economy is open.
He only cares about being reelected.
With him saying he would withhold federal finds from schools and now saying if universities don't follow his guidelines that he will have the IRS look into their tax status...
The way he threatens our own institutions, I find it very hard to believe people could not believe he did it to Ukraine.
Amazing that the right touts law and order yet support one that flaunts going around it.
Says they are against totalitarianism yet support one that says my way or else...
Trump finally put on a mask to visit Walter Reed. He was visiting for another photo op and I have a feeling he was told, no mask, no visit.
About damn time.
Don't expect to see him making a habit out of it.
He's trying to pretend he cares about our troops. I'm pretty sure they'd prefer he focus on finding out more about the bounties Putin has put on their heads or take the time to READ the daily briefing.
I am glad I am not a patient at WR. Had he tried to visit me, he would have gotten both barrels from me and I would not care if it cost me rank and an Article 15.
Yeah right. Your gonna risk your retirement over that?
You’re not that stupid
You have to break eggs to make an omelet.
You’re not that stupid
Thank you for that, but these days I am not too sure.
Oh, in your 20+ years I suspect you put up with worse to get there. Many times I bet but I hear you. Trump tends to not lead from the front in cases like this. That said, I knew all the people bagging on him for not wearing a mask would just hammer harder when he did.
No winning for Trump with many on the left.
I was just glad to see him finally wear one. Now it will have to be seen if he continues the habit or if it was merely grandstanding.
Thank you for just one + added to that twenty instead of a ++++ that would be more accurate. You almost make me feel young again with just the one +.
"He only cares about being reelected."
To avoid prison
For what crime or crimes? Please be specific and lay out the facts and evidence.
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Ugh....he's such a dolt. How desperate and broken would someone have to be to support this man. I remain baffled. I truly didn't think there was that many stupid people in America. I was wrong.
Pretty disappointing, isn't it?