Let Mikey do it
More on Trump the smart person who doesn’t need to read intelligence briefings, from the Atlantic.
Trump complained that his briefings are repetitive, and insisted he’s receiving the information he needs, even he takes the briefings only once a week. “I get it when I need it,” Trump told Chris Wallace. “First of all, these are very good people that are giving me the briefings. And I say, ‘If something should change from this point, immediately call me. I’m available on one-minute’s notice.’”
Trump also pointed out that Vice-President-elect Mike Pence receives the daily briefings he declines, although he did not explain why Pence—like every recent president—finds value in receiving the daily assessments while he does not. “And I’m being briefed also,” he told Wallace. “But if they’re going to come in and tell me the exact same thing that they tell me—you know, it doesn’t change, necessarily. Now, there will be times where it might change. I mean, there will be some very fluid situations. I’ll be there not every day, but more than that. But I don’t need to be told, Chris, the same thing every day, every morning, same words. ‘Sir, nothing has changed. Let’s go over it again.’ I don’t need that.”
Allow me to gloss that. He doesn’t want to. It’s boring. It’s boring and it’s also kind of scary – what’s he gotten himself into? But it’s ok because Pence is there to do the actual work, so whew. And it’s boring boring boring, so let Pence do it. The Donald is busy working up the crowds and tweeting insults at union guys and teenage girls.
Trump is the first person elected president without having held prior military or public office. Intelligence officials have stressed that, given his lack of prior experience, the daily briefings may be particular important in ensuring that he is fully up to speed by the time he takes the oath of office.
No, see, he doesn’t need to be, because there’s Pence. That was always the deal, see. He does the fun stuff and Pence does the hard work. That was the deal.
This explains why he’s a lousy business man as well. That’s one thing running a country and running a large corporation have in common: the head honcho has to stay on top of things and know what’s going on from day to day, even if only as a high-level summary. The covers of Dubya’s defense briefings were adorned with verses of Scripture; I’m sure they can think of something that will catch Trump’s attention (though I really don’t want to think about exactly what).
Apropos my comment about a palace coup: the other possibility, of course, is that the powers behind the throne maneuver Trump into being a figurehead who is largely out of the loop (and he’s stupid and vain enough that, with a little flattery, he won’t notice), while the VP does the real work. I always figured that was about how the Reagan administration worked, so there’s a precedent to follow.
Good Christ! He doesn’t even have the job yet and he’s already decided he understands everything it entails! Six weeks out, and he already knows how the whole things works. He knows what he can ignore, what’s important, what truly matters. Can he really be so stupid (or vain) that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know?
Trump is being helpful with that figurehead thing: he’s maneuvering himself into the figurehead role, who’s out of the loop because the loop is too boring and too much trouble.
The surprising part perhaps is that he’s artlessly letting the world know that that’s what’s happening. “Hello world, I’m making Pence do all the actual work, while I do the fun figurehead stuff.”
Can Trump really be so stupid (or vain) that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know? Oh GOD yes. Can be and is and always has been and is utterly obvious about it.
Russia (and other nations or groups unfriendly to the USA/west in general) must be permanently drunk from celebrating at the moment.
Ain’t that the truth? It’s so degrading, so humiliating. “Hahahaha you think you’re so great and look at what you just did! Hahahahahahahahaetcforever”
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1371574319527692/?type=3&theater
Ophelia:
For sure. And he’s also making it abundantly clear that the stuff Pence has to do – the running of the actual country and all that shit – is beneath him, Trump. That it’s not important. That the country runs itself as long as lesser people are probably doing it. Not that he’d know either way. And Pence is therefore a less important person who can presumably be allowed to make his own horrible ideas happen.
It’s an interesting dilemma for Pence. He can probably have as big a role as he wants in running the country, as long as he doesn’t interfere with the few things Trump actually cares about. But in an impeachment scenario, Pence would want to make sure that he has plausible deniability of whatever wrongdoings are finally enough to motivate the Republicans in Congress, so that he doesn’t face his own impeachment hearings (while Paul Ryan gives sorrowful interviews about how he really, really, didn’t seek out the job of President, but if it becomes his Constitutional duty….)