Americans knew all along that Donald Trump was a lightening rod for controversy. They knew this from his business history that indicates his numerous lawsuits and bankruptcy of his business. His penchant for controversy was exposed more during the 2016 presidential campaign.
During the presidential campaign Donald Trump's detractors criticized him for not having the temperament and experience to be president. His supporters in his defense cited his business leadership and his "pull no punches" attitude. What no one talked about though was whether he would be able to handle the pressure and stress of the presidency. We are now finding out.
One way we know that Trump is not handling the pressure and stress of the presidency is the confusion and chaos in dealing with the scandal involving his administration alleged collusion with Russia. Just look at Sean Spicer when he gives his press briefings - the look on his face comes from the stress of trying to do damage control for the president.
That Trump is not handling the rigors of the presidency well are manifested in the frequent flip-flops or vacillation. Take for example, the recent announcement of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate Trump's Russian collusion problem, NPR reported this reaction by the president,
In a statement Wednesday night, President Trump said a thorough investigation will confirm there was "no collusion" between his campaign and any foreign entity during last year's election.
Following this the President made a 180-degree turn as shown in this extract from an MSN report,
President Donald Trump lashed out at the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations that his campaign collaborated with Russia to sway the 2016 election, tweeting Thursday that it is "the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!"
The president also took to his favorite social media, Twitter and tweeted,
Mr. Trump's flip-flops and vacillation are not a surprise as he did it frequently during the campaign. What is a surprise is that as president he continues to do it. The president also has a problem of using the Sigmund Fried defense mechanism - Projection. He does this by projecting his flaws on people (especially President Obama) who he sees as his nemesis. When things are not going well for him he cites Obama as doing the same thing or getting away with things as he did in this tweet,
In a previous Daily Kos Blog, title Donald Trump is his Worst Enemy, I pointed out some of the self-damaging he has done. At this stage you have to wonder if H. L. Mencken was looking into a crystal ball when he said,
As democracy is perfected, the office of President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. [On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe]
Note: The word Buncombe in the title of his book is defined by the Free Dictionary as follows:
1. insincere speechmaking by a politician intended merely to please local constituents.
2. insincere talk; claptrap; humbug.
If Donald Trump is to change course and give his presidency a chance of surviving (assuming he is exonerated in the Russian investigation) he must do the following five things: 1) stop making contradictory statements that undermine his credibility, 2) recognize that he is the president of all America, 3) stop blaming others for his missteps, 4) stop making himself a victim (especially of the liberal media - e.g., his commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy), 5) stop undermining America's institutions and people.