Toddler-In-Chief

One of the things that I cannot understand is the concept of boredom. Sure, I can look up the definition:

A state characterized by a lack of interest, difficulty concentrating, and a restless desire for a more engaging activity. It is a psychological signal that one's current situation or environment is not providing meaning or mental stimulation.  

I always have something to do, things to occupy my time. Even if I am in a situation where I'm just sitting waiting, I run through my mind ideas for blog articles, think through household finances or make plans for future adventures. My mind is always busy. I have a hard time imagining what it would be like to be bored. I just don't get it.

Yet we have a president, who has one of the most stimulating and arguably the most engaging and interesting jobs that you could have, who frequently complains about being bored with aspects of his job: intelligence briefings, details of the economy, and now the negotiations to end the war that he started. 

Last year Trump was given the nickname "TACO", which stood for Trump Always Chickens Out, referring to his constant backing off from his insane tariff "policy". He gets an idea, makes a threat, and then backs off when confronted either with serious pushback, or if the process drags on too long he loses interest. He's like a toddler who always needs to be entertained. 

I've written often about how Trump has functioned as an authoritarian and governed more like a dictator than a chief executive. And that has certainly been his preference. He has said that as president he can do whatever he wants. He has suggested that any action he takes is, by definition, legal. He barreled back into Washington with a pile of executive orders and an illegal, unaccountable, off-the-books deputy who purged the government agencies of anything he didn't like, as well as a Department of Justice that functions as his personal attack lawyers. He started a war without input from Congress that the majority of the country is against. The Department of Homeland Security has been transformed into a secret police. Yet he appears to lack the attention span to cement his rule.

Despite his administration's early moves to conduct end runs around court rulings, lately he has seemed indifferent to setbacks, and a lack of interest in fighting back is more common that the fight, fight, fight, attitude exemplified in the photo op from the staged assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. He grumbles and posts on Truth Social about corrupt judges, or endorses primary challengers for recalcitrant Republicans, but then he gets bored and moves on to the next shiny object. His incompetent and unqualified appointees are what's keeping the autocracy train on the rails — they're either true believers or are enthusiastic ass-kissers. They'll keep implementing what they think their master wants, until they make him look bad. 

What all of this tells me is that even though Trump believed that he had unrestrained power, and could act without Congress, he could have been restrained if Congress as a body had resisted him. There was no way he could have primaried every Republican. But none of them wanted to be the few that he succeeded in getting rid off — they were afraid of his influence with a significant percentage of Republican voters. Part of it was that many, if not most, Republicans agreed with the ends, if not the means. They were willing to forgo constitutional principles to get what they wanted. 

So, while I haven't changed my assessment that Trump is an authoritarian who is governing as a dictator, he lacks the attention span to stay focused on any meaningful plan. He is easily distracted and is more concerned with decorating than leading the nation.