The Empathy of 47

Not to mention maturity and intellect.

Here was the 47th president’s trenchant response to the chaos unleashed by Elon Musk over the weekend.

But sure, all of this is supposed to be taken as a serious attempt at dealing with waste and efficiency.

Why govern when you can mock the people whose lives you are toying with?

FILED UNDER: US Politics,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter and/or BlueSky.

Comments

  1. CSK says:

    I suppose I should be accustomed to this churl’s juvenile antics by now, but they still make me cringe.

    This is the president of the United States: a boob and an oaf.

    18
  2. wr says:

    I hope people coming to Republican congresspeople’s town halls print this up and put it on signs.

    7
  3. Jen says:

    I hate calling this childish, because that’s unfair to most children.

    He is a joke, and stuff like this just emphasizes his clownishness.

    Also, for a bit of a boost, go watch Macron fact-check him in real time on Ukraine. Trump is clearly outclassed, outsmarted, and looks effin’ miserable.

    11
  4. Daryl says:

    @Jen:
    gotta link?

    1
  5. Kathy says:

    @Jen:

    He is a joke,

    Unfair to jokes.

    3
  6. Slugger says:

    On some “conservative” sites I see people saying that Trump is a master at trolling those laughable libs. I don’t like a President Joker; I prefer a President Bruce Wayne.

    6
  7. Jen says:

    @Daryl: I’m on BlueSky, wasn’t sure how many are there, but here’s the link.

    1
  8. Scott F. says:

    @CSK:

    I suppose I should be accustomed to this churl’s juvenile antics by now, but they still make me cringe.

    This is why I believe so much damage, much of it irreparable, has already been done to the US as of Trump’s re-election. That is, before any of the actual results of his administration’s malfeasance in governance become actualized. The bar for leadership behavior in US politics is now set at the very low level of “doesn’t make me cringe.”

    2
  9. CSK says:

    @Scott F.:

    Oh, I agree. Trump appeals to people’s basest instincts, yet somehow his fans interpret that as honesty and courage. “He fights!” No, he doesn’t. He has infantile tantrums on a world stage.

    8
  10. charontwo says:

    @Jen:

    You do not need to be on Bluesky to follow Bluesky links.

    3
  11. Ken_L says:

    Trump absolutely despises anyone who would choose a career in a “sheltered workshop” instead of getting a “proper job”. I mean he thinks soldiers are “suckers and losers”, God knows what he calls career civil servants. And most of his followers agree wholeheartedly. They’re enthusiastically cheering what Musk is doing. “Government should be run like a business!” is their inane slogan, apparently believing successful businesses are run by mocking employees and keeping them in a state of perpetual insecurity.

    2
  12. DrDaveT says:

    Got done last week:
    1. Dealt with damage done by firings
    2. Dealt with damage done by threats of firings
    3. Did the fvcking mission anyway
    4. Filled out useless “five things” letter
    5. Hid everything that a Russian agent might want to see

    6