From Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged:
Highest Stock Market EVER, best economic numbers in years, unemployment lowest in 17 years, wages raising, border secure, S.C.: No WH chaos!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2017
Before I get down to the news of a busy news day, I just want to ruminate on the above Tweet–do you ever, in the midst of saying glowing things about your various blessings, really feel the need to say something like, “and by the way, my job is totally secure” or “and my marriage is stronger than ever” if there wasn’t an inkling something was wrong? That’s how I’m reading the above Tweet–“Things are going so great: Ignore the mess!” It’s almost as if Trump is either certain enough of his own hoodwinking prowess to believe he can Jedi Mind-Trick the appearance of chaos away by merely saying so, or has finally begun to accept “Hey, maybe this does look kind of bad” into his outlook.
But as I said some time ago: It looks bad because it is bad. Trump’s problems are revealed through bad news, not “fake news”. That news might be coming out because of leaks, but those leaks attest to something about the nature of his administration, that his staff feels the need to try and shape the narrative by letting bad news out, even if it might be damaging to the president or other members of his circle. That is pretty extraordinary, but not a problem of “spin”. It’s a problem of actual deficiencies in leadership and competency in staffing. It’s the girders, not the paint.