I don't think it's dementia. I've been thinking hard on what he reminds me of lately and I'm pretty sure I've gotten close to the mark. Certain companies, ones that have been running well and making money their whole lives, have CEOs that really don't do a whole lot. These CEOs are more figureheads. They go to galas, or charity events to pop in, show themselves, etc. They're more interested in the popularity than the management. At one time, perhaps when they were young and eager to make a name, they knew business and developed the company in this vision. But decades later, after they've made all the money and they've hired folks to make all the decisions for them, they've sorta drifted away from operations and - here's the key - forgotten how to run the company. But this is OK, because they exist to bring the company into the spotlight, while everyone else does the work. Trump is on record as having just recently said that he thought being President would be easier than his "old life". He clearly thought this was a job where he could do the same as above - show up every once in a while, give a nod, a smile, a wave. He probably got this impression from Obama. Obama the superstar who went on talk shows, played golf, had parties at the White House, etc. Trump fell into the trap of "Hey, that looks easy. I could do that!" The problem, of course, is that it isn't easy. It needs strong leadership and, here's the key, direction. Trump doesn't have leadership issues. Trump has direction issues. Trump's policies, philosophies and world views are so controversial, so erratic and so inconsistent that the people working in his administration have no idea what he wants to do. I mean, how do you implement policy when you see Trump tell you to go charge that hill, and then once you gear up, he tells you "no, that's no longer important"? The amount of flip flops, random pivots and the like have not only confused his opponents and helped his negotiation abilities, but they have severely hampered the beast of government that is necessary to make shit run. Add to this that there are people in every shadow, every corner and most of the media, and his own party trying to hamper every change, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Trump isn't suffering from dementia. He's suffering from impotence.
That was yet another example of how the media ignored an Obama gaffe but is quick to pounce on every one of Trump's.
There are stop gaps in place to prevent a president from doing anything crazy. The problem is he is surrounded by guys who are just dying to blow some shit up.Trump doesn't have dementia, but I do think he's a bit overwhelmed. Mr. Tao is right in his assessment that Trump mistakenly thought the job would be a no brainer. Given his predecessors one can hardly fault him.
There must nevertheless be something extremely appealing, as all the politicians in the world fight really hard to gain and keep a politician President job: - some do the dictatorship so that they can't be removed easily - very few do refuse to run again for the job Did Trump say that he was willing to not run again ? Talk vs actions.
Trump can't run for reelection unless he builds The Wall. He is delusional if he thinks he can get reelected by promising a Wall again. Here is the strategy on a silver platter for Democrats to beat Trump in 2020. Simply run through every one of his promises and finish each sentence with "liar". "You never built a wall....liar". Paint him to be someone who can't deliver on any promise. Don't do anything beyond that and Democrats can win in 2020. The problem with that strategy is Democrats can't help themselves. They will go back to the familiar and tired old playbook of identity politics by calling Trump "racist" and "sexist". Democrats will probably run a Transgendered Muslim in 2020. If Democrats run a boring/non-controversial white guy who simply calls Trump a liar for not delivering then they will win. Keep it simple, show that Trump promised America a Cake and didn't even deliver a crumb. Just control your inner snowflake and you can win this.