Day 761: AP: Trump is working* hard (*on nicknames for potential Democratic opponents)

Donald Trump’s proclamations that he’s working hard have been severely undercut by pesky things, such as facts. Every day a new story emerges about the lengths Trump goes to avoid actual work. Whether it’s a three-day weekend at a golf club, hours upon hours watching Fox News or him acting as a White House docent to give lewd tours to friends, there rarely seems to be actual policy-driven work done in the Oval Office.

Another such work-eschewing story emerged Tuesday, this time from the AP.

It seems Trump is intensely focused on branding potential opponents for a presidential election that is 21 months away. The closest Trump is coming to w-o-r-k is workshopping Democratic nicknames with aides.

Inside the West Wing and in conversations with outside allies, Trump has been workshopping other attempts to imprint his new adversaries with lasting labels, according to two people on whom the president has tested out the nicknames. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with the president. He is also testing out lines of attack in public rallies, exploring vulnerabilities he could use against them should they advance to the general election.

If that seems odd, it’s because it is.

Presidents traditionally ignore their potential opponents as long as possible to maintain their status as an incumbent floating above the contenders who are auditioning for a job they already inhabit.

The only time Trump seems to enjoy himself is when he’s campaigning. And while he’s spent the majority of the past two-plus years treating the presidency like it was a campaign for his supporters — full of rallies and faux boasts and inflammatory tweets — the truth is Trump craves an actual campaign.

So rather than dealing with crucial issues like the claimed national emergency on the southern border, or the crisis that is healthcare costs, or an impending second meeting with Kim Jong-un, or tricky military situations across the world, or the opioid problem plaguing states from coast to coast, Trump is content to sit around and try and think of nicknames for Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

761 days in, 701 to go

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