Donald Trump was all set to kill the Office of Personnel Management until he watched a TV show that taught him not to do it.
In recent weeks, Trump soured on continuing the fight after seeing an obscure television program about government while he was in the residence, according to White House officials, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Top budget office and other White House officials were rushed to meet with Trump the following day.
The president told his top advisers that with a win unlikely, the already unpopular plan would bring him poor reviews. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and acting budget director Russell Vought, along with Margaret Weichert, the White House official leading the effort, tried to convince Trump to keep going in line with conservative principles of shrinking government, the officials said.
The only way that Trump seems capable of learning is by watching TV. The president doesn’t read. He makes George W. Bush look intellectually curious, but he does watch tons of television, and it appears that he accidentally watched something that wasn’t Fox News, and learned a little bit about the government that he is supposed to be running.
The idea that Trump, who is three years into his first term, is learning about government from watching television is both sad and scary at the same time.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
- Trump And House GOP’s Promise To Not Cut Social Security Is Total Nonsense - Fri, Dec 20th, 2024
- Trump And Mike Johnson Agree To Apparently Cut Americans’ Healthcare To Pay For Tax Cuts For The Rich - Fri, Dec 20th, 2024
- Dozens Of Republicans Humiliate Trump/Musk By Voting Down CR - Thu, Dec 19th, 2024
