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Michael D'Antonio: Woodward reveals Trump as the King Baby of presidents
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/opinions/king-baby-opinion-dantonio/index.htmlEminent journalist Bob Woodward's book-long take on President Donald Trump, bits of which have been revealed in advance, is proving with authority what the world already suspected: Imperious, impatient and immature, Donald Trump is the King Baby of presidents, a man who is incapable of rising to the demands of the most important job on earth.
A King Baby is, as comedian Jim Gaffigan noted in his famous routine, a demanding narcissist whose need for attention is surpassed only by his inability to recognize the damage he does to others. Freud recognized this type with the phrase, "His Majesty the Baby," and people everywhere know this kind of man from their families, their communities and their workplaces.
In the accounts we've seen of his book "Fear: Trump in the White House," Woodward reveals a man who is temperamentally unfit for office, surrounded by aides who are trying to rein in his awful impulses. Chief of Staff John Kelly is shown calling the President "unhinged" and an "idiot," and the administration experiences what the author calls "a nervous breakdown of executive power." (Kelly and others who have been quoted as trashing Trump have issued statements disclaiming the unflattering remarks Woodward's reporting revealed.)
Though alarming, nothing Woodward seems to have learned in documents and hundreds of hours' worth of interviews would surprise anyone who has studied Donald Trump or worked with him. The twenty-something man who demanded that New Yorkers regarded him as a mogul-in-the-making has always operated with a high level of bluster and bluff. He habitually oversold himself -- insisting he was smarter, richer, and more accomplished than he was -- and he has become an old man who can't bear hearing of a reality that conflicted with the fantasy in his head.
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A King Baby is, as comedian Jim Gaffigan noted in his famous routine, a demanding narcissist whose need for attention is surpassed only by his inability to recognize the damage he does to others. Freud recognized this type with the phrase, "His Majesty the Baby," and people everywhere know this kind of man from their families, their communities and their workplaces.
In the accounts we've seen of his book "Fear: Trump in the White House," Woodward reveals a man who is temperamentally unfit for office, surrounded by aides who are trying to rein in his awful impulses. Chief of Staff John Kelly is shown calling the President "unhinged" and an "idiot," and the administration experiences what the author calls "a nervous breakdown of executive power." (Kelly and others who have been quoted as trashing Trump have issued statements disclaiming the unflattering remarks Woodward's reporting revealed.)
Though alarming, nothing Woodward seems to have learned in documents and hundreds of hours' worth of interviews would surprise anyone who has studied Donald Trump or worked with him. The twenty-something man who demanded that New Yorkers regarded him as a mogul-in-the-making has always operated with a high level of bluster and bluff. He habitually oversold himself -- insisting he was smarter, richer, and more accomplished than he was -- and he has become an old man who can't bear hearing of a reality that conflicted with the fantasy in his head.
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