Why Trump Keeps Telling the World 'Im Smart'

http://prospect.org/article/why-trump-keeps-telling-world-i%E2%80%99m-smart

Why Trump Keeps Telling the World 'I’m Smart'
Peter Dreier
January 9, 2018
The president has tons of bravado, which masks a myriad of other problems.

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Trump’s career is littered with bogus businesses (like Trump University); repeated rip-offs of suppliers, contractors and employees whom he failed to pay for services rendered; and the misuse of the Trump Foundation to feather his own nest while trying to look like a philanthropist. Six of Trump’s businesses have gone bankrupt. Despite this, in 2015 Trump tweeted: “For all of the haters and losers out there sorry, I never went Bankrupt.”

Embarrassed by his lackluster academic record, his dependence on his family’s connections and wealth to get into college and to succeed in business, and his troublesome and abusive business practices, Trump lashes out at anyone who challenges him, no matter how insignificant the matter.

In Fire and Fury, Wolff reports that Trump’s staff treats him like a child who needs “immediate gratification.” Trump’s White House aides told Wolff, “It's all about him. ... This man does not read, does not listen. He's like a pinball just shooting off the sides.”

Although Trump has the self-awareness of an adolescent, it is obvious to many others that his compulsion to constantly boast “I’m smart” and to deride others as “losers” is rooted in his profound sense of self-doubt.

Presidents don’t have to be geniuses. But a successful president must recognize his own limitations and be willing to rely on others’ expertise. He has to take constant criticism—from the media, political opponents, and his own advisers—without taking it too personally. Surrounding oneself with yes-men and -women who are afraid to tell the president he’s wrong is a recipe for disaster. Most important, an effective president needs good judgment—to be able to hear different viewpoints, weigh evidence, think several steps in advance rather than act impulsively, and be calm under intense pressure. Trump fails each of these tests.

Beneath Trump’s public bravado is a deeply insecure, troubled man who is unfit to be president. This makes him a danger to the country and the world.