Trump’s Unattractive, Yet Unsurprising Admission About His Tenure As POTUS
[guest post by Dana]
During an interview with Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, Donald Trump made a surprising-but-not-surprising admission about his tenure as the President of the United States:
“The question I get asked more than any other question: ‘If you had it to do again, would you have done it?’” Trump said of running for president. “The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here’s the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are.”
Haberman goes on to note that, when considering his role as the President, “his first impulse was not to mention public service, or what he felt he’d accomplished, only that it appeared to be a vehicle for fame, and that many experiences were only worth having if someone else envied them.”
His admission is only jarring because he said the quiet part out loud. But really, it simply confirms what we already know: Trump has always been about Trump and his brand. He likely always will be. He is motivated by insatiable greed and thirst for power. One only has to look at his biographical details, including his business dealings and public life to see it spelled out. The presidency, however, brought him unparalleled power and status. Previously closed doors opened, and he gained a certain legitimacy before the world that being a reality star or developer could never give him. If Trump runs and wins the election in 2024, he will still be the same narcissist he has always been. Thus, it stands to reason that if he becomes our next president, the state of the nation and the American people might be priorities for him, just not his most important ones.
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (1225fc) — 9/26/2022 @ 1:40 pmI’m thinking that what Trump means, is that he has no regrets about having run for POTUS because the rich, unknown friends he had, are still his friends today.
felipe (484255) — 9/26/2022 @ 2:01 pmSo Trump saw fame. While HRC was merely power hungry.
“That’s some damn choice, Bob.” – Robert Kennedy [Martin Sheen] ‘The Missiles Of October’ ABC TV, 1974
DCSCA (0ba5ba) — 9/26/2022 @ 2:10 pmTrump has said so many outrageous and dishonest things over the years that it’s hard to see what’s actually newsworthy with Haberman’s piece, although his wink-and-nod that he illegally kept presidential records is interesting.
Paul Montagu (753b42) — 9/26/2022 @ 3:11 pm@4. Biden has said so many outrageous and dishonest things over the DECADES that it’s hard to see what’s actually newsworthy…
FIFY
“Senator, I think you’re a windbag.” – Brit Hume ABC News/ Fox News
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/brit-humes-classic-profile-of-joe-biden/
DCSCA (b37c1a) — 9/26/2022 @ 3:37 pmThe sh*t that passes for journalism…
If if ain’t Haberman, it’s Rupar or some other fat-left lout.
Colonel Haiku (17b3b0) — 9/26/2022 @ 3:44 pmAnd in other breaking news – sun expected to rise in East.
John B Boddie (517c97) — 9/26/2022 @ 4:06 pmOT- Watch NASA’s DART kick a space rock right in the ‘ass-teroid.’
https://www.nasa.gov/content/live-coverage-of-nasas-double-asteroid-redirection-test-dart-mission
“Bang! Zoom!!” – Ralph Kramden [Jackie Gleason] ‘The Honeymooners’ CBS TV 1955-56
DCSCA (b37c1a) — 9/26/2022 @ 4:07 pmDART impacts.
Well done, boys and girls. Outstanding.
DCSCA (b37c1a) — 9/26/2022 @ 4:18 pmFifty years from now, if Putin hasn’t said eff it all, Haberman will be revealed to have Trump’s Normal People -like dalliance
urbanleftbehind (f1ad64) — 9/26/2022 @ 4:36 pmI don’t necessarily disagree with you re the newsworthiness of Haberman’s piece, but for me, it says a lot that Trump so casually acknowledges what the tenure of his presidency meant to him. While she does state that during another interview, he named some accomplishment, they were not his go-to response. IOW, we have him informing us what his first priority was. For the Trump supporters who tout the Make America Great Again line as some sort of gospel and he their savior to bring it about, it’s instructive, maybe revealing to hear from Trump himself make clear where the country and people really fall on his list of priorities.
I do agree re keeping presidential records. If he believes he can declassify docs with his mind, then it makes perfect sense that he isn’t – or at least wasn’t worried about retaining the papers. Yet more indication that he never understood the magnitude of responsibility that comes with the presidency and bis belief that the laws, rules, and protocols don’t apply to him.
Dana (1225fc) — 9/26/2022 @ 4:43 pm‘I love being with her’: Trump says in new book that New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman is like his ‘psychiatrist’
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/26/2022 @ 4:57 pmFair enuf, Dana. One odd comment from Haberman was when she said “ultimately, almost no one really knows him,” which seems like maybe she was too close to the subject.
Paul Montagu (753b42) — 9/26/2022 @ 5:18 pmTo me–and this also comes from an acquaintance of mine who met Trump and did some IT work for him–Trump is so vain and self-centered that he has to always make it about himself, whether it actually helps him or not, and he’ll put himself above God, above country, above party, etc.
Trump’s legacy is Joe Biden. That is inescapable.
nk (89cb73) — 9/26/2022 @ 6:30 pmI hope that he has the most spectacular funeral. Soon.
Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 9/26/2022 @ 7:40 pmObama’s legacy is Trump. That is also unescapable.
Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 9/26/2022 @ 7:42 pmI agree with nk and Kevin about legacies.
Paul Montagu (753b42) — 9/26/2022 @ 8:38 pmok, inescapable
Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 9/26/2022 @ 10:34 pm“Because here’s the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are.”
People who crave fame as much or more than money are hilarious.
I would rather have 10 million dollars and be anonymous than have 100 million dollars and be famous.
Narcissism is a sickness.
norcal (da5491) — 9/27/2022 @ 12:19 amYet despite all his faults and the people voting for him the deplorables hated you so bad they voted for him anyway! The enemy of my enemy is my friend! In 2022 nothing has changed the populist base of the republican party loves trump and loathes you. I am using the generic you.
asset (5ec7ec) — 9/27/2022 @ 1:06 amAllahpundit Nick strikes again. https://boilingfrogs.thedispatch.com/p/q-ing-up
He diagnoses a Trump rally in Ohio that showcased creepy background music not to be outdone by creepy index-finger pointing. Holy QAnon Batman.
It’s also interesting to see the usual suspects complaining that we shouldn’t talk about it….and that we should be talking about Biden…or Putin…or Xi…or anything, just not the sacred GOP.
The rally had the odd feeling of a religious revival. I was waiting for the ceremonial kool-aid to be passed after Trump’s long list of grievances and selective analyses. I especially appreciated his mention that more people died of Covid in 2021 than in 2020. Atta boy, though one wonders how many more of his voters in RedStates unnecessarily died….but we’ll keep that rabbit hole of statistical futility sealed.
I just think back to the optimism of Reagan and each and every GOP candidate afterwards and witness where we’ve fallen. Yet, many out there want to stick their fingers in their ears (when their not strangely pointing with it) and not talk about the man who drove the GOP’s curious slate of midtermers, continues to demand allegiance to the Big Steal, and remains the leading candidate for the 2024 nomination….despite numerous potential indictments.
Unless normal people demand better…we will keep getting cr*p. Some fatalists want cr*p. I’m tired of abiding them….
AJ_Liberty (242c56) — 9/27/2022 @ 3:57 amOK,
Poppy Bush’s legacy was Clinton.
Clinton’s legacy was W.
W’s legacy was Obama.
And who did Reagan support back in 1988 — Bush!
And, as has been said, Obama begat Trump and Trump begat Biden (who is begetting Trump al over again, I guess)
DCSCA’s thesis is proven. It’s Reaganomics. We are all doomed and its all our fault while at the same time it is all pre-ordained.
We are but sheep led by malevolent shepards to the wolves or the nearby cliffs. Accept our fates and take what pleasure we can at our keyboards….
Hoo boy….
Appalled (3ef453) — 9/27/2022 @ 7:56 amHi #21 —
I think we just said much the same thing, though my /sarc was defnitely triggered.
Appalled (3ef453) — 9/27/2022 @ 7:58 amThe thing that strikes me about the populism that Trump has evoked, inspired, beget, or whatever you want to call it, is the level of anger involved. When I read now hard-right sites (which prior to Trump were just ordinary conservative sites), they are almost entirely centered around anger and dissatisfaction. It’s like reading an ongoing complaint by malcontents who see everyone else as wrong and dangerous to the country. So I often wonder how the reflexive anger and outrage manifests itself in people’s everyday lives and in daily interactions with others.
In Trump’s interview with Haberman, it’s interesting to note that he doesn’t seem angry per se, but if you watch any of his rallies, he is still clearly playing on the anger of attendees and ratcheting it up another notch. Very smoothly, and very knowingly. It still confuses me how so many can’t see that they are just tools for him to use to advance himself.
Dana (1225fc) — 9/27/2022 @ 9:07 amAngry Malcontents vs. Willfully Blind & Befuddled
Alright then…
Colonel Haiku (0416b6) — 9/27/2022 @ 9:42 amDana, interesting to compare against Sanders, who I think is genuinely angry when he displays anger.
aphrael (b10132) — 9/27/2022 @ 6:43 pmNot envied them.
Remembered them.
Trump ensured that he would remembered 100 years from now, and more.
He is mentioned, in passing, in many books published between 2005 and 2009, but this fame will last.
That wouldn’t make a person evil. That has to do with other things,
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 9/28/2022 @ 2:06 pm