Bob Woodward's new book, Rage, is an documentation of parts of the Trump presidency from a respected journalist. It is based on facts and research using interviews with President Trump, the public record and trusted sources. Much of what I'm reading confirms what I had already heard, but Woodward brings them together in a time line.
Woodward clearly shows Trump is a liar. That is, a person who does not tell the truth. President Trump is clearly a liar, but I'm convinced most of his lies are not really intentional because he does not actually understand the concepts of truth or facts. Occasionally he seems to logically determine what response is best for him. But in many cases, he seems to just say whatever his gut tells him is most expeditious at the moment. That is why he can say something and them shortly thereafter he can say the complete opposite.
I must admit I've long believed President Trump is an idiot, but Woodward recounted incidents that make me pause to consider maybe Trump has more substance than I gave him credit for. That was until I read chapter 33.
In chapter 33 Woodward describes the advice he received years ago about writing biographies. An English professor suggested finding true "reflectors" of the subject. People who are or were close to the subject. People whose close experiences with the subject allow them to make accurate assessments of the person.
Woodward choose President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as such a person.
In February, 2020 Kushner suggested four texts that should be consulted to help understand Donald Trump. Texts in this case meant writings, not text messages.
The first is a 2018 opinion piece by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal. In this piece she describes the President as a "crazy act", "a living insult", and "epic instability, mismanagement and confusion".
I think Noonan was basically saying Trump is not rational and has no desire to use rational thought to perform his presidential duties.
The second text Kushner recommended consulting was Alice in Wonderland. Specifically the Cheshire Cat whose strategy, according to Woodward, "was one of endurance and persistence, not direction”.
I understand this to mean Trump does not think ahead. He doesn't believe that goals and steps to achieve those goals are needed. He just needs to survive the moment, psychologically satisfy his narcissism and boost his low self-esteem.
Then Kushner suggested the book The Gatekeepers: How White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, by Chris Whipple. I think Kushner recommended this book to high light that while other presidents chose people with talents, knowledge and experience to help them determine how to handle difficult issues, Trump feels he needs little help since he is more qualified than anyone to best decide what to do.
I believe, President Trump wants people who just do whatever he says and sometimes realize what he wants done without him having to put himself in jeopardy by saying something incriminating. He also wants people who will tell him what a great job he is doing and people to blame when things go badly.
The final text was Scott Adam's book, Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter. Scott Adams is the creator or Dilbert. Adam's argues that Trump's lies "are not regrettable errors or ethical lapses”. In Adams' words, Trump “can invent any reality”.
We see this all the time. Trump lies and some people will accept whatever he says. Trump supporters have been conditioned to believe that anyone who tries to correct Trump is the liar. They are just creating fake news.
As I said earlier, I'm not convinced Trump's lies are that strategic. He knows his followers will believe whatever he says. He suffers no penalties for repeating and expanding a lie. In Trump's world, the old saw, “go big or go home” is a guiding principle for his lies.
Woodard summarizes Kushner's insight into Trump by saying, “When combined, Kushner's four text's painted President Trump as crazy, aimless, stubborn and manipulative.”. It sounds like neither Kushner or Woodward think Trump is a stable genius.
I would phrase Woodward's analysis a little differently. President Trump is not rational, has no goals other than surviving, only needs people who will serve him and has no compunction abusing people to meet his needs.
That sounds a lot like COVID-19.
To make this comparison even stronger, President Trump would like to be King Trump and COVID-19 is a corona virus.
