Watch the video from the Trump tweet above. At a time when previous presidents, if they were awake, would be reading the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, and reviewing briefing papers, Trump is usually rage tweeting and getting his morning fix of Fox & Friends. There are two versions. Who knew?
This morning there was a departure. Before he began his rage-tweet-a-thon he posted the video of a spinning airport food cart which prompted lots of comments. Some examples:
- Ladies and gentlemen...I present the United States president! He sits around all day tweeting and re-posting funny videos. SAD! #Trump
- Trump spinning out of control. Luckily Schiff arrived in time to handle the situation before more damage was done
- this gif is the perfect metaphor for your presidency
- Pace yourself. You've got a busy day of rage-tweeting ahead of you.What felonies will you confess to today?
- I’m really surprised at your restraint! I expected you to take full credit for stopping the cart with just your stable genius mind.
- This is your behavior since impeachment inquiries started
- A perfect visual of your administration and the coming impeachment!Also, shouldn’t you be working?
- The perfect metaphor for the Trump presidencyWhich is why newspapers are starting to call for your resignation
I have no idea what deep psychological significance or indication of his current state of mind this suggests. It actually could be a healthy sign that he took a break from obsessing. It wasn’t until a little later that he got back into his usual tweeting mode.
This is the tweet he has pinned to the top of his page:
I don't know where the map Trump tweeted is from. I do know that this is the map that counts and I rather doubt it is one Trump will pin to his Twitter page:
The Poll: For those of you who don’t know, I am a retired psychotherapist and am very much aware of the toll stress is taking on me, my friends, and all of you. This week we have been treated to a tonic of optimistic news. How has this effected your stress level?
Tuesday, Oct 1, 2019 · 3:44:58 PM +00:00 · HalBrown
Chauncey DeVega offers some excellent advice in
Impeachment and emotional whiplash: Can Americans rise up in hope and courage? Fear is only natural: Trump has escaped before. But the tide is turning — and the hope you feel is important
Trump and his allies’ shock doctrine assault on American democracy and society has put the American people, with relatively few exceptions, in a state of learned helplessness.
Ironically, Trump’s overreach in the Ukraine scandal has begun to force at least some Americans out of their pitiable state of weakness.
As these "Good Americans" rise from their state of learned helplessness, they are experiencing hope and fear, exhilaration and worry, exhaustion and rejuvenation, highs and lows, smiles and cries. Because Donald Trump and his authoritarian movement have subjected the American people to so much abuse, there is great fear of disappointment — the reasonable worry that one can never really escape the abuser. Such an emotional dynamic holds true if the abuser is a parent or intimate partner — or, in this case, is president of the United States.
This is a condition of emotional whiplash.
It is natural for those in such an emotional state to fear being too hopeful. Disappointment is always so close, and so seemingly inevitable.
To escape learned helplessness, a person must go from a passive and reactive mindset to one of lived agency and action.