President Trump’s aides can’t stop referring to him as if he were a temperamental toddler, the Washington Post observes.
Daniel Dresner, a professor of politics at Tufts University, has assembled a thread compiling tweets in which people close to the president inadvertently reveal that he is not growing into the most important office in the world — or adulthood generally.
Dresner observed tweets referring to the president, and noticed a pattern: “It quickly became clear that the evidence that Trump was not growing into the presidency was hiding in plain sight,” he says. “Barely a week or even a day could pass without someone with access to Trump telling the news media in no uncertain terms the ways in which he was unfit for office.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler. https://t.co/yAZg1uZnpy pic.twitter.com/o8UltcVhda
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) April 25, 2017
So he has decided to catalog the tweets that show the commander-in-chief behaving like a pre-preschooler. At the moment, he has 71.
Drezner has opened his carefully curated list to the public. His criteria: 1) The example has to be sourced from an ally of Trump; 2) The example has to come from a mainstream media news source; 3) Keep repeats to a minimum.
Some greatest hits, as of today:
“Advisers have tried to curtail Trump’s idle hours, hoping to prevent him from watching cable news or calling old friends and then tweeting about it. That only works during the weekdays, though — Trump’s evenings and weekends have remained largely his own.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler. https://t.co/AjyZaPnVqT pic.twitter.com/jlbLFFxkFV
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) April 27, 2017
“He just seemed to go crazy today,” a senior GOP aide said.
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler. https://t.co/TI3NG5RC6H pic.twitter.com/pIBiYUQQYC
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 2, 2017
“Trump turns on the television as soon as he wakes…Once he goes upstairs, there’s no managing him.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler. https://t.co/yAZg1uZnpy pic.twitter.com/o8UltcVhda
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) April 25, 2017
“He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn’t disappear and demanded that they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler. https://t.co/pKvh7InfyK pic.twitter.com/JmH9gLrVkM
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 10, 2017
“It’s like they’re preparing to deal with a child — someone with a short attention span and mood who has no knowledge of NATO, no interest in in-depth policy issues, nothing.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler: https://t.co/GobQo11IkK pic.twitter.com/auEviJj5Wp
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 15, 2017
“The president goes through mood where sometimes he wants to blow everything up.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler. https://t.co/aVUcZSnqKc pic.twitter.com/YxtxdvbBZl
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 20, 2017
“At the dessert course, he gets two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his chocolate cream pie, instead of the single scoop for everyone else.”
I’ll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops treating him like a toddler. https://t.co/YyCXzz1OQG pic.twitter.com/CpWi6RodNn
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 11, 2017