I have just plowed through, and plowed is an accurate
verb, A Very Stable Genius by
Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig. My
overall feeling is that it is an effective depiction of Donald Trump’s approach
to managing the office of President of the United States.
There is nothing in the book that should surprise
anyone who has even marginally followed the news in the past three years. Your
own take on the events of the Trump presidency might differ depending on which
news sources you frequent, but the events themselves are basically not in
dispute.
The book is organized chronologically and takes you from
the beginning of his presidency to the Mueller Report. The formal impeachment
inquiry is not treated. My sense is that the authors wanted to zero in on the
revolving door of presidential staffing.
We get detail after detail on how the president chooses his underlings,
how he treats them, how he uses social media platforms and public rallies to
steer public response to his actions, and in particular how he disposes of those
who displease him.
As I write this the Covid-19 pandemic has taken over
the news and the Trump approach to this challenge seems to me to mirror the
management philosophy that this book chronicles.
Trump initially underplays the significance of
potential difficulties. He will also attempt to distract by putting some other alternate
event into the atmosphere. Think here of things like, “What about Hilary’s
e-mails?” or “Why haven’t those FBI agents been prosecuted?” His conservative echo chamber will then
reliably reinforce what he says or tweets. He gives himself ten out of ten ratings
while Jeff Sessions, James Comey, China, or the media are dependable villains
to be excoriated at will.
The authors show that time after time Trump does not
read briefing material prepared for him in advance of meetings and does not pay
much attention to daily intelligence briefings.
He prefers to enter meetings without careful preparation and will either
avoid or belittle the opinions of anyone who offers material he does not like. He
does this according to Rucker and Leonnig because he thinks he already has all
the knowledge he needs in his own
head. When he does listen it is often only
to his cronies or his immediate family. He seems particularly suspicious of people in
the military or intelligence areas and apparently now in the council of public
health officials.
Trump, the authors conclude, remains mired in
political blame, self-aggrandizement, lack of empathy, rampant nepotism, and gut
based decision making. These traits, they say, have consistently put the
country at odds with itself and our friends and allies.
Unfortunately, Trump’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis
up to this time appears to be following the same patterns outlined in the book.
The Trumpian toolbox just seems ill equipped to handle a health pandemic. He remains
faced with addressing a scourge that knows no walls, no borders, no economic
philosophy, and no partisan political affiliation.
All we can do now is hope for some changes in the
established pattern.
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