The Decline of Trump

So, here's a thing about Trump and his competence/mental state. I'm gong to list three things that have happened since he was elected.

Thing the first - when asked about his/the GOP's plan on ACA, he said, repeatedly, that the Democrats "own Obamacare" and its failures.

He said that they "should" let it fail and the Democrats would "own it", but they're not going to.

Thing the second - when he visited the CIA, he said outright that he was visiting them first to put to bed the idea of a rift with them.

And thing the third - he described the purpose of sweeping regulatory rollback as being to allow companies to do something "monstrous" fast.

These three things all have one thing in common - saying them in no way helped him, in no way advanced his case or achieved a goal.

So why did he say them? I'll tell you why. It's the other thing they have in common: they are internal talking points. Strategy points.

Donald Trump told us he wanted the weekend off. He had no intention of going to the CIA, or anywhere else. So how did he get there? Like so:

Someone close to him says, "Donald, you need to go talk to the CIA." "I don't wanna. They're out to get me." "That's why you have to go."

His advisor (handler) says, "The media's talking about this rift, this rift. You have to go talk to them right away, show there's no rift."

So Donald Trump gets up in front of the CIA and his paid cheering session, and honest to God the only thing he says on topic is that.

He repeats, probably almost word for word, the rationale his advisor told him he had to be there.

He doesn't understand what they actually wanted him to do, which was to get up and praise the CIA and act like there was no rift.

The other cases? Same thing. He's repeating to reporters the verbiage his aides and advisors explain to him why he wants to do things.

It was probably Bannon the nihilist who told him that the regulatory rollback would help companies that want to do monstrous things.

My point here is - Donald Trump was never a complex or nuanced man, but at this point, he's... well, "far gone" is the only way to put it.

It's unfortunate there is so much loaded, ableist rhetoric around both evil and incompetent men, but there is something going on here.

When you read the text of a Trump interview or speech from ten years ao, compared to one today? The degradation is very obvious.

Remember the report that the Russians had prepared all this kompromat on Trump but found they didn't need it? He just does what they say.

And his close aides/associates outright saying he basically does what the last person he talked to (that he trusts) suggests.

I'll put this very bluntly: I don't think Donald Trump understands what the people in his life are telling him to do, even as he does it.

If he were playing poker and Steve Bannon were helping him and Bannon said, "Donald, you're showing an ace but you've got nothing, bluff"...

...Donald would say, "I've got nothing so I'm bluffing." and then get very angry when he doesn't win, because he was told that would work.

There are at least those three times in January alone that he has repeated what was obviously an internal talking point, to reporters.

This is not to say he's entirely a puppet president. I think he's doing two things right now: his own impulses, and what he's talked into.

Both kinds of things are dangerous for different reasons. His unchecked id, unrestrained temperament, could literally get us all killed.

And his tendency to go along with whatever the people he relies on press him into doing puts very dangerous people in powerful positions.

And our supposedly "liberal media" spent ages blandly reporting on "concerns" of Clinton's health that were clearly deflection/projection.

Mark my words, if things continue, he's gonna pull a talking points gaffe like the ones I mentioned during an importantion negotiation.

I've kept waiting for anyone in the media to notice this pattern but no one seems to be picking up on it, among the other weirdness.

I'm sure to Donald it makes a kind of sense, he's always subscribed to the idea that it's all just "moves" in a negotiation anyway.

The idea that you don't tell the person you're buttering up you're there to butter them up, or reveal your scapegoat plans to the public...

...seems to have slipped away from him, though. He's lost what little sense of subtlety he ever had.

A scene I'd bet has happened: Advisor: Donald, you have to say X, because Y. Donald: So I say Y. A: You can't say Y. D: But I'm president!

And then there's a ten minute argument about why did the advisor tell him Y if he can't say Y, why can't he say Y if Y is true, etc.

And the advisor tries to convince him that he can't say Y because it looks bad, but that turns into Donald wanting to say THAT.

And then they run out of time and the advisor gives up, figuring (mostly correctly!) that it will all be overlooked anyway.

That's how we end up with Trump rambling about the Democrats owning Obamacare if the repeal/replace fails.

That's how we end up with Trump telling the CIA he's visiting them first because of appearances.

That's how we end up with Trump explaining the purpose of the regulation rollback as allowing companies to do monstrous things quickly.

Now, if you think this is worrying, here's the scary part: the people working with him in the White House and the GOP leaders must know this

And their collective reaction to this ongoing and likely spiraling state of affairs is not "This is bad." but "What a golden opportunity!"

Tomorrow, God willing, I will wake up. And I will find Trump's online supporters saying, "How do you know that's what his advisors said?"

And it's true, I have no inside knowledge. It's just conversational algebra. You start from the actual outcome and work backwards.

See, with a few exceptions, people rarely say things that make no sense. You just have to figure out *how* they make sense.

And while it's tempting to dismiss what Trump spews in his rambles as "word salad", a lot of it does make sense from the right perspective.

And I'm telling you, a lot of what he's been doing is repeating fragments of advice he'd get from advisors, things from strategy meetings.

And I have never had a high opinion of him, but I don't believe he would have done that, ten years ago. Make of that what you will.

@alexandraerin I have another example of the phenomenon of blurting out internal notes:https://twitter.com/seldo/status/823769503926362112 …

@planetclark @alexandraerin Yes, 100 times yes and also why people new to his inner circle, like Sean Spicer, are freaking out in public.

@alexandraerin You have no idea how much I love every word. Every.Word. His 'handlers' always look tense, ready to rush podium #barelyhinged

@alexandraerin there was also "they told me to say 'drain the swamp' and it sounded terrible but I tried and you actually liked it"

@alexandraerin It's also why Kellyanne and others have to spin, gaslight, and invent "alternative facts" to deny his madness.

@alexandraerin Oncoming dementia?!

@kitty62862 @alexandraerin I've been saying for over a year that the latenight twitter tantrums=sundowning on Alzheimer meds.

@auntiesiannan @kitty62862 @alexandraerin Also why he had to fly home at night on the campaign trail. Familiar surroundings help a lot.

@LAustyanJulian @kitty62862 @alexandraerin Exactly. I wouldn't be surprised if they recreate his NYC bedroom in the WH residence.

@auntiesiannan @LAustyanJulian @kitty62862 @alexandraerin he is replacing stuff in the White House with gold versions...

@alexandraerin his perseverance (repeating same thing again and again) looked like message discipline on campaign trail but also...insanity

@alexandraerin Wow. So it's possible the forced applause isn't meant for the TV viewers... its to bolster a mentally ailing Trump.