Unconfirmed rumors from a Trump dossier. A shitshow of a press conference. (Need to come up with a better descriptor for that one; “kangaroo conference?”) The ongoing scandal of conflicts of interest that have no appearance of being mitigated which will lead to numerous lawsuits. The cabinet hearings with such revelations as the fact that Trump never bothered to discuss Russia with his pick for Secretary of State. And so on.
How can our attention stretch this thin? Will this be on the test? My brain hurts?
It seems the best practice is to just take in the scene. It’s all happening, but if you breathe, you can slow things down enough to just see it all unfolding. A Rube Goldberg Machine of a presidency is about to happen.
Don’t Believe His Lies
Trump is full of shit. Full-stop. Giving him an enema would leave behind a scaly, translucent orange skin and a big mess.
Stop waiting for him to make sense. Anything that he says you may agree with, that’s fine. He says all sorts of things. He doesn’t mean any of them, because he is not in a position to mean anything. Agreeing with a statement is not agreeing with the man.
The Trump agenda is to promise only the most-vague of outcomes, and then claim whatever is delivered was even better than what was promised. But Trump doesn’t care about details. He doesn’t want to know about details. He just wants to show up at the plot points and finesse the audience.
If You Can Read This, You’re Not the Audience
Trump’s audience is a very particular slice of the electorate. The people who voted for him do not comprise his audience. Only the people who buy absolutes are in the club. They believe Trump is the Wizard of Oz. He’s the preacher that’s—Holy shit! He just made that guy able to walk again!
There is a reason he has prosperity preachers lined up for the inauguration. They’re part of the same act. So unless you’re the sort that will buy that bullshit, Trump’s not speaking to you and doesn’t care about you. Don’t listen for him to make appeals that you care about. He doesn’t know how to con you, so he just walks on by to find someone he can work on.
He’s Going to be Hands-Off, but will Tweet His Own
Trump is just shoving parts under the hood and will turn the key and claim it’s all going so smoothly without having a clue. Between Pence and Priebus and the other advisers, they may keep the engine running, but at some point something will break.
Trump will lash out at his own cabinet members, blaming anybody but himself. Indeed, there is some circumstantial evidence that he largely chose his cabinet based on their names and their facial hair.
Maintain a mental distance from the news. It’s happening, but it’s too easy to go on wild-goose chases and snipe hunts with this sort of leader. Don’t do it. When Trump cries wolf, we owe it to ourselves to let him be eaten.