Day 15: The S.S. Trump is Sinking
The first two weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency have been like a 12-foot skiff sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.
The boat has enough holes that it’s obvious it will be scuttled at some point, but the exact crevasse that is the final cause of the sinking isn’t clear just yet.
First, there are the leaks that are literally coming out of the White House to reporters. The stories detailing the leaks have been constant.
Politico reported yesterday that longtime Trump adviser Michael Caputo, still in touch with some Trump aides, said, “Trying to nail down who the leakers are is like trying to count the cockroaches under the couch.”
The Washington Post ran a story further detailing the steady flow of information, including conversations with foreign leaders, the reality-television-style Supreme Court build-up and announcement, and posit one compelling reason for the leaks:
“There are people at senior levels within the administration who have major concerns about Trump and his fitness for office. In the long tradition of whistleblowers, they are using selective leaks to make sure that people know what is really going on inside the White House.”
Senior staff members are attempting to protect the country from Trump authoritarianism one leak at a time.
That leads us to the second problem of the S.S. Trump: The captain and his top mates are cutting into their own hull to take on water.
His press secretary can’t stop lying, his son-in-law and confidant is “furious,” congressional Republicans continue to move away from him and one of his top counselors, Kellyanne Conway, uses “alternative facts” where she sees fit.
The lies clearly start at the top though.
Trump’s words and actions have spurred millions of Americans to protest in the streets. His approval rating dipped below majority approval after less than 10 days, 7,000% faster than any other president in over a generation. The Congressional phone lines are lighting up like no time in history.
Even this morning, the president’s official Twitter account noted that Trump appointed the first female deputy director in CIA history.
Nope.
Perhaps most disconcertingly, Trump’s first approved military operation ended up with two Americans’ deads in Yemen: a SEAL Team Six member and an eight-year old girl (along with many citizens in a raid where almost everything went wrong). Trump’s team tried to blame Barack Obama, but as Joe Biden’s top national security aide pointed out, that was a lie.
Trump’s longtime friend, radio host Howard Stern, is concerned that Trump’s desperation to be loved will be the end of him:
“I don’t think it’s going to be a healthy experience. And by the way, he’s now on this anti-Hollywood kick. He loves Hollywood. First of all, he loves the press. He lives for it. He loves people in Hollywood. He only wants hobnob with them. All of this hatred and stuff directed towards him. It’s not good for him. It’s not good.”
Trump watches a worrying amount of television. He hears everything the press says. So he tries to undercut negativity with ridiculous conspiracy theories. The people against him? Those must be “professional anarchists” and “paid protesters,” as if there are millions of Americans collecting checks for uniting and assembling despite no financial paper trail or benefactor.
The consistently negative press after every misstep from the White House, along with the leaks from inside the White House, point us back to one thing: The boat is sinking.
And the captain is to blame.
15 days in, 1447 to go
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