A core truth we've learned from the Wolff book that many are overlooking: the fact that Trump didn't want or expect to be president means he didn't want or intend to help ANY of those he claimed to want to help, and instead intended to leave them with Clinton as their president.
2/ Fundamentally, one CANNOT run for President of the United States without wanting or intending to win unless you're 100% fine with your opponent becoming president and governing those you've publicly said she must never govern. Trump sold out his base to get his own TV network.
3/ FIRE AND FURY ends the illusion that Trump cared about those he claimed to care about during the campaign. You can say that Bannon cares about them—you can say that folks like John Kelly do care about the country—but you CANNOT say Trump cares about the country OR "his base."
4/ We can say that Trump doesn't care about the country—and that FIRE AND FURY finally PROVES it—because Trump was not only OK with someone who he said was unfit to serve being president, he PREFERRED that outcome to him having to do the job instead of getting his own TV network.
5/ We have AMPLE evidence Trump tried to lose the election and abandon his "base." Remember that $1 billion he promised to spend to win? Instead he spent almost nothing—preferring to hoard his gold in anticipation of a TV network rather than lose any real coin to help his "base."
6/ Wolff establishes that Trump and his team wanted it to be a close election in Hillary's favor so they could all go on to bigger and better things than public service. He establishes, too, that Trump had no political beliefs—no commitment to any "base"—besides getting richer.
7/ So what emerges from FIRE AND FURY is that the entire Trump campaign was a scam and the entire Trump presidency an unhappy accident that no one in Trumpworld was prepared for or even remotely interested in. There's no sense that Trump wanted to help ANYONE or advance ANY idea.
8/ This is why so much of Trump's statement in response to Steve Bannon was about Trump having an agenda, and that agenda being about "the forgotten men and women" of America. Because the book establishes that the man most likely and eager to forget them was Donald Trump himself.
9/ My question is how the MEDIA now recalibrates its coverage of the administration, knowing it came in with no agenda, values, or interest in governing. Do we still pretend Trump has a coherent ideology on anything?
Or rather, as McConnell says—per Wolff—"he'll sign anything"?
Or rather, as McConnell says—per Wolff—"he'll sign anything"?
10/ I worry we keep learning things about Trump—for instance, that we must hunt not for the lies in what he says but the truth, as the latter is vanishingly rare—but somehow coverage of him never really changes because the media (as an institution) is stuck in navel-gazing mode.
PS/ I agree with those who note Trump surely believed a narrow Clinton victory would help launch Trump TV with four years of nonstop Hillary-hatred. Trump could then help handpick the GOP challenger to Clinton—perhaps even Ivanka—making the whole election a lose-win-win for him.
NOTE/ Trump promised to SPEND (not even LEND) $1 BILLION to win the election.
He said he'd do that for the sake of the forgotten men and women in America—his "base."
Below is what ACTUALLY happened.
He said he'd do that for the sake of the forgotten men and women in America—his "base."
Below is what ACTUALLY happened.
