Benjamin Wittes on Lawfare is appalled to be quoted out of context by the POTUS:
You read that correctly: The President of the United States was tweeting approvingly an article describing his motivations as “invidious” and describing his actions using the phrase “incompetent malevolence.” …
It is a portrait in inconsequential and comical miniature of the incompetence and dysfunction we’ve been seeing since day one of the Trump Administration. It’s the incompetence I wrote about the day after the executive order itself emerged with virtually no vetting.
Next time, I’ll just write “some guy on Lawfare, or maybe it was Judicial Watch, says Falcon All The Way, Baby!”. But, of course, Benjamin’s quite correct – Trump has no idea how to run a professional operation, nor do his staff.
And, yet, it’s sad that we have this opportunity to laugh at him like this. We desperately need serious people running an important part of this country – the part charged with governing and defending us. He’s been profoundly unserious – he may disagree in terms of intent, but in terms of effect it’s been a joke.
And I’m saying this keeping my post concerning MLK, Jr. firmly in mind. Honestly, part of me just pities him. He’s clearly in 10 feet of water with concrete blocks attached to his ankles. He needs better people – but his entire life has been spent hiring those who look good in their position, regardless of their merit. He doesn’t appear to have a clue.
And another part is just appalled. Appalled that he took in so many Americans, so many of my fellow Americans. And that some of them, in fact a lot of them, apparently approve of his behavior. In the Gallup chart on the left, I could not capture the actual numbers, so I’ll put them here – an approval rating of 40%, a disapproval rating of 55%. Sure, pundits rattle on that this is historically unprecedented.
But, in terms of raw numbers, this is still discouraging. 40% of my fellow Americans still see President Trump as heading the right way, despite … well, I shan’t repeat myself.
