Donald Trump's staggering incompetence: Is this terrifying bumbler the GOP's secret weapon?

From the Muslim ban to zero tolerance and kids in cages: An inept president can still be an authoritarian

HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
JUNE 22, 2018 12:10PM (UTC)

President Donald Trump has now been in office for a year and a half. By this time, presidents who are unfamiliar with the ways of Washington (and that is not uncommon) have gotten past the rough spots, settled into the job and figured out how to work the levers of power. Some are naturally better at it than others and some take a while to get their bearings.

Some always seem to be in the middle of political drama, while others just seem to stay placid and even-keeled, almost to the point of being boring. (The contrast between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama comes to mind.) But however they start out, a year and half in they have settled into whatever their groove is going to be, and are operating at a high level of competence. It's the presidency of the United States, after all.

None of that applies to Trump. He is just as incompetent today as he was the day after his inauguration, when he sent out Sean Spicer in an ill-fitting suit to defend his preposterous claim that his inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's. In fact, he has actually gotten worse at the job instead of better. If anyone labored under the impression that the responsibility and importance of the job would by its very nature force a president, no matter how seemingly unfit, to rise to the occasion, Trump has disabused them of that.

Setting aside the relentless palace intrigue -- which I think is unprecedented in American presidential history -- and his endless insults and rhetorical excesses, Trump's inability to craft even minimally competent policy, much less implement it, after all this time is astonishing. During the campaign he assured his followers that the presidency would be easy for him. He was such a genius that he would be able to do everything he promised almost immediately.

Seven days after his inauguration, Trump had his unctuous factotum Stephen Miller scratch out an executive order banning travelers and refugees from predominantly Muslim countries. It was so incompetent and amateurish that it stranded travelers all over the world and threw the entire immigration system. Most people chalked it up to an over-eager rookie mistake. He wanted to make good on his promise and didn't understand the complexities of the job just yet. His administration wasn't fully staffed up yet, hadn't thought through the logistical ramifications of just pulling the plug and didn't realize there were serious constitutional issues that would have to be considered. Surely it wouldn't happen again.

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https://www.salon.com/2018/06/22/donald-trumps-staggering-incompetence-is-that-the-gops-secret-weapon/