Is Having a President With the Knowledge and Temperament of a Dim, Petulant Second Grader a Problem?
By 
One of the more persuasive critiques of the Clinton campaign was its decision — particularly late in the campaign, when Trump’s high negatives were well-established and it was becoming increasingly clear that Republican voters were almost all coming home — to focus its advertising on Trump’s character rather than Clinton’s proposals and/or negative advertising based on Trump’s extremely unpopular agenda. I have no idea if a different approach would have worked, but I started to cringe when I saw the kids-watching-Trump ads late in the campaign.
While, with big assists from the 18th century slave power and our benevolent national security overlords, the focus on Trump’s gross unfitness for office didn’t work, the underlying claim certainly wasn’t wrong. Item A:
Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it.
At one point Trump informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day — including Russian President Vladimir Putin — and that “This was the worst call by far.
Trump’s behavior suggests that he is capable of subjecting world leaders, including close allies, to a version of the vitriol he frequently employs against political adversaries and news organizations in speeches and on Twitter.
President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call did not detail who exactly Trump considered “bad hombres,” nor did it make clear the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s response. Mexico denies that Trump made the threat.
Still, the excerpt offers a rare and striking look at how the new president is conducting diplomacy behind closed doors. Trump’s remarks suggest he is using the same tough and blunt talk with world leaders that he used to rally crowds on the campaign trail.
There is a constitutional remedy for removing a demented person from the office. Alas, there is no chance it will be exercised as long as Trump remains useful to Republican efforts to slash upper-class taxes and the welfare state while attacking voting, labor and civil rights and coercing as many women as possible to carry pregnancies to term.