"as constantly distracted by his own self-interest." This trait was exploited by Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state at the time:
"We had this running joke that, whenever the president was chewing out Mike about something in a private Oval Office meeting, all Mike had to do was mention Russiagate or something like that," he said. "And the president would, you know, take it and run for quite a while, he'd rant and ... he wouldn't remember what he was angry at Pompeo about."
"At one point, I said to the president: 'You know, Mr. President, you're like a bull in a bull ring and your adversaries have your number. They know how to get under your skin, and all they have to do is wave a red flag over here and you go charging and attack it.' And I said, 'At the end of the day, you're going to be in the middle of the ring sweating and someone's going to come and put a sword through your head,' " said Barr. "He didn't think much of that metaphor.""
I like the comparison to a bull, but I imagine Trump more as a cat chasing a laser pointer.
Well here is Trump's response letter... I have to wonder if Trump even knows how to tell the truth. Or if he is so delusional, that he thinks he is telling the truth?
1 comment:
During the years of the Bush presidency, people like me were often accused of something called Bush Derangement Syndrome or BDS. The idea was that our criticism or even opposition to Bush policies wasn't as the result of some sort of thoughtful analysis but was instead caused by some underlying mental or psychological issue. I thought that was wrong then, or mostly wrong. I thought also that the notion of BDS was propagated by people who wanted to avoid a substantive discussion of issues. Back then, I made a promise to myself that if my guys gained power, I would not use similar avoidance tactics when responding to what is always inevitable criticism from political adversaries.
I think I have kept that promise mostly, but my resolve in doing that is sorely tested. It is so easy to dismiss Trump's behavior as the result of some sort of mental illness. It isn't always easy to find alternative reasons to explain for what he does. Most recently, he described Putin as a genius, at a time when Putin was committing a series of foolish acts which will ultimately end in disaster for his people and himself. I find it hard to find a rationality in Trump's thinking, just as I find it hard to find a rationality in Putin's thinking. But the effort continues.
--Hiram
Post a Comment