Trump 101

The Trump reaction to the comments by the Mayor of San Juan, relative to the federal government’s response to the horrific damage to Puerto Rico from the last hurricane, makes me wonder about gamesmanship.

Our president is many things. He seems not smart, mainly I guess because he does not or perhaps cannot read much. He seems to care only about himself, and perhaps his closest family members. He lacks empathy, almost completely—I guess that’s the narcissist trait.

But mainly, he hates criticism of any kind directed at him. Note that he routinely directs criticism at others. It is his main characteristic—criticizing others. But any . . . repeat any, criticism directed at Donald Trump causes our President to enter a lengthy stage of unbridled fury. He seems borderline out of control, much as any 2-4 year old when denied something he wants.  Immediately, because Twitter seems his only communications approach (it allows him to direct his anger in 140 character bursts), he sends out one or more, often several, Tweets in a storm of abuse directed at the person, or entity criticizing him.

In the case of Puerto Rico, he blasted back at the Mayor for daring to find him less than perfect.  But the bottom line here is that he—Trump—now has power, and he can create damage beyond his snarky tweets. So, Puerto Rico might actually suffer because Trump is mad that someone there criticized him.

This makes me wonder whether we in the “outer world” (that world in which we humans of America live) need to consider a different strategy for communicating with President Stupidhead.

If we assume that our President will only act positively towards someone if that someone compliments him, then we might consider adopting a communications policy something like:

1.       Whenever you need something from the President, toss a compliment his way. Tell him he’s great, wonderful, yugely effective as President, and you love the job he’s doing. Then, at the least, he won’t be pissed at you. Never, ever criticize the President directly, unless you want nothing from him, or never expect to want anything from him.

2.       Then, you may communicate with whatever federal agency you might need to work some magic for you.  Presumptively, that agency will not have received any negative tweets from the President.

3.       You should then communicate privately with the Congressional offices that might be relevant to your needs. If they do not wish to open the doors to help you, say authorize aid as in Puerto Rico, you can still bring whatever political pressure you possess to bear.

4.       Never put any communication regarding the President in writing as an official statement.

5.       Work quietly locally to assure that your contacts are aware that changes will be made via the elections process if political leaders align themselves too closely with Trump.

So, for the next three years, no one who needs something from the federal government will ever again criticize him openly. Lie to him if necessary. It’s what he does to everyone around him. He can’t stand the truth, so never give him the truth.

Mainly, try not to engage in any communication with the President. It almost always ends badly, so avoid him if at all possible.

Oh, and if you’re Kim Jung Un, just ignore him. He’s an idiot, but insulting him is not a likely strategy for success.  Continue working with the adults of the world.

Eventually Trump will go back to being a real estate developer.  It’s what he does.