Somebody Get the President*'s Babysitter

By Charles Pierce, Esquire

15 November 18

Trump is throwing temper tantrums at world leaders because presidenting* isn't fun anymore.

rim times down at Camp Runamuck, and god bless Eli Stokols of the Los Angeles Times for elegantly capturing the predicament in which El Caudillo Del Mar-A-Lago finds himself—with a phrase of solid, 24-karat gold.

But his mood apparently has changed as he has taken measure of the electoral backlash that voters delivered Nov. 6. With the certainty that the incoming Democratic House majority will go after his tax returns and investigate his actions, and the likelihood of additional indictments by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, Trump has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and resentment, according to multiple administration sources.

Perfect. Not only does it encapsulate our current situation with the president*, but it also probably already has provided 100 garage bands with their names, and it has given Dave Eggers a title if he ever writes about this administration*. There are no more adoring rallies to give, and all the Wrong People soon will have subpoena power, and Robert Mueller is over there, just out of sight, humming while he hones his ax. Being president* is nowhere near as much fun as running for president* was.

And, now, it's getting awfully close to being lethal, in the legal sense, and the strings are coming unstrung. From the Washington Post:

British Prime Minister Theresa May was calling to celebrate the Republican Party’s wins in the midterm elections — never mind that Democrats seized control of the House — but her appeal to the American president’s vanity was met with an ornery outburst. Trump berated May for Britain not doing enough, in his assessment, to contain Iran. He questioned her over Brexit and complained about the trade deals he sees as unfair with European countries. May has endured Trump’s churlish temper before, but still her aides were shaken by his especially foul mood, according to U.S. and European officials briefed on the conversation.

(Ed. Note: God, is Theresa May a dope.)

During his 43-hour stay in Paris, Trump brooded over the Florida recounts and sulked over key races being called for Democrats in the midterm elections that he had claimed as a “big victory.” He erupted at his staff over media coverage of his decision to skip a ceremony honoring the military sacrifice of World War I. The president also was angry and resentful over French President Emmanuel Macron’s public rebuke of rising nationalism, which Trump considered a personal attack. And that was after his difficult meeting with Macron, where officials said little progress was made as Trump again brought up his frustrations over trade and Iran.

As we noted on Tuesday, this has left a power vacuum in the White House that seems to be filled, at the moment, by Melania Trump, which is weird enough.

But that doesn't bode well for Chief of Staff John Kelly, who, when he finally leaves, likely will have hundreds of wonderful tales to tell. Sure, he'll have his book deal, and his sinecure at whatever think-tank wants him, and a seat on a couple dozen corporate boards. The rest of us will still have a president* who's on the fast track to the cracker factory while presiding over what appears to be a Borgia court.

Melania Trump said in an October interview with ABC News that the president had people working for him whom she did not trust and that she has let her husband know. “Some people, they don’t work there anymore,” the first lady said.

In her role as No. 2 to national security adviser John Bolton, Ricardel berated colleagues in meetings, yelled at military aides and White House professional staff, argued with Melania Trump regarding her recent trip to Africa and spread rumors about Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, according to three current and two former White House officials. Kelly has sought for months to oust Ricardel, calling her a problematic hire in the West Wing, and Mattis has told advisers that he wants her out as well, the officials said.

And it appears that French president Emmanuel Macron has a unique gift for trolling this particular president*.

Once he was back home in Washington, Trump unloaded on his French counterpart, likening Macron’s call for a European army to Germany’s military expansion in World War I and World War II. Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, “How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!” Trump also lashed out over trade agreements — “Not fair, must change!” he tweeted — that he argued make it easy for the United States to sell French wines but difficult for France to sell American wines.

And then he attacked Macron for his unpopularity in France — while providing a bit of sloganeering advice. “The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!... MAKE FRANCE GREAT AGAIN!”

Yes, fans, it was Five Days of Fury in a Cocoon of Bitterness and Resentment.

Somebody get the net.