We're beginning to think the president might not have a firm grip on his job. President Donald J. Trump agreed to an interview with Reuters to discuss his accomplishments in the first hundred days of his presidency. But rather than cite, say, his appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court or the litany of executive orders he's signed, he took a different tact.
Midway through a discussion about Chinese President Xi Jinping, the president paused to hand out copies of what he said were the latest figures from the 2016 electoral map. "Here, you can take that, that's the final map of the numbers," the Republican president said from his desk in the Oval Office, handing out maps of the United States with areas he won marked in red. "It's pretty good, right? The red is obviously us." He had copies for each of the three Reuters reporters in the room.
Very considerate to bring copies for everyone! The only question is why, after 100 days in office, he's still talking about the election and Hillary Clinton. And what are the "latest figures"? How are they significantly different from the ones that emerged on election night, when he was declared the Electoral College winner? That main thing that's changed is that Clinton's lead in the popular vote stretched to nearly three million.
The most powerful man in the world seems to be living in his own fever dream. He also complained to Reuters that he doesn't get to drive anymore, and that his extensive Secret Service protection means it is hard to travel—though he seems to make it down to Mar a Lago just fine. Everyone knows these limitations come with the presidency—except, evidently, the president. But then there was this:
"I loved my previous life. I had so many things going," Trump told Reuters in an interview. "This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier."
I thought it would be easier. Just another example of this president Learning Things.
