What is it that compels our President to devote so much time and effort to acting such a fool?

What is it that compels our Predident to devote so much time and effort to acting such a fool?
Most modern adults are run by dysfunctional mental machinery built up over the course of their lives. It’s usually a system of ideas and behavior that insulates and reinforces the ego against conflicting input. This is just Trump’s flavor, extreme though it is. There are so many inputs asserting that he’s an atrocious corrupt man-child that his defensive behavior has a lot to react to. He’s also trying to fuel the similar patterns of those aligned with him.

Who would have believed it possible?
Well he had precedents is getting away with incompetence in Ronald Reagan, Quayle, and Bush Junior. Social and political scientists who have studied anti-intellectualism, corporate media manipulation, recent politics, and certain cultural groups in the US probably had some idea it was possible.

He doesn’t know any better. His parents must not have taught him how to behave correctly and not be an idiot bully.

Mundane as it is, and embarrassing, it had an interesting effect on the NFL. His divisive rhetoric has helped unify the players, and owners in a way that may never have occurred otherwise.

Trump may inadvertently bring the world closer together.

Think about it. Most people hate bullies. Many will stick up for a stranger, if they see them being bullied. The empathy caused by Trump’s rhetoric, is actually helping in some cases.

I’m not condoning his words, but the results could be worse…

His over inflated ego.

He is the distraction. He uses hot button issues that appeal to his base to distract the 69% from those issues that are really important. This week it is the NFL and nationalism. Why, because he is likely to lose the ACA fight again and wants something he can claim as a win, because he would rather that we not notice that Zinke is GIVING our parklands to the energy and lumber sectors, because he would rather that we not notice that Congress is about to hand the banking, investment and energy sectors a bone by limiting class action suites against them; because his HHS director has been living it up in the swamp at our expense and he would rather you did not notice this.
Basically, we all need to not be distracted by the smoke and bright lights and look to see what the man behind the curtain is actually doing.

Honestly, Stanley. It requires no effort at all. And as time is money, he has plenty of it.

It is said that we get the president that we deserve. I would like to believe that we deserve better, but there is some 40% of the country that supports Trump and he is apparently satisfied with that percentage, so he keeps on playing to them.

@Espiritus_Corvus He doesn’t have THAT much time. Time left that is. He is 70 and the life expectancy is 76.6. Maybe, deep down inside, he loves total chaos and expects to see what mayhem results from his leadership (?) in the afterlife.

^^I don’t think guys like that, guys who have no introspection, think in terms like “time left”. I think they have spent their whole lives moving forward very fast and powerfully and to hell with the collateral damage, the debris field they leave behind. In their case, it is rewarded behaviour. Introspection is for softies, compromisers, losers, in their book. They consider it a form of weakness.

Remember Ted Turner and how he was back in the ‘70s? He was one unenlightened, rich, complete dumbass when it came to anything other than eating small media companies. I cite his interview with Jacques Cousteau back then. Completely out of his water, made a damn fool out of himself on his own cable channel. Cousteau was amazingly patient trying to make him understand the problem of ecology of the seas. Ted just couldn’t get it because it had to do with something larger than himself, the health and welfare of the planet he never gave thought to.

But then, Ted married Jane Fonda. And he came out the other end of that a totally different guy. He came out a fairly knowledgeable, good guy and began putting his money into good things for important changes, like the Cousteau Foundation, for reasons other than PR. I don’t have any hope for Trump, but Ted’s story shows the difference between a total numbskull and a numbskull’s potential.

He isn’t compelled. He’s clueless!