It’s inexplicable, right? Why cut money for testing and tracing? Why try to force in-person schooling even when it is unsafe to do do?
I have been trying to understand why does Trump do the things he does? Many of them defy rational explanation.
And the best explanation I can think of is that Trump has 4 basic, core drives:
1) The desire for revenge and to harm anyone he thinks has ever wronged him (including anyone who has ever criticised him or even recused themselves)
2) A desire to always appear right, to never admit he was wrong about anything, ever, to never appear “weak” or like a “loser”
3) His desire to be successful as a president/businessman
4) A desire to be worshipped, to stand before large crowds of people screaming his name in adulation
People keep thinking he will do the right thing in terms of pandemic response because of drive #3 (to be a successful president), but during a pandemic, the primacy of his drives #1 (revenge) and #2 (to never be wrong, to never “appear weak”) dominate, superceding his own rational interests.
Incidentally, I think this is why a core of his supporters will follow him no matter what he does — because they share his drive #1 — to harm and take revenge on perceived enemies (on immigrants, on elites, on coastal dwellers, on African Americans), no matter what is happening to America in the process.
Why cut testing and tracing funds? To never appear wrong and never admit failure.
Why force schools to re-open when it is terribly unsafe to do so? I honestly think he has longstanding anger toward public schools, educators, unions, and teachers unions and wants public school teachers to suffer.
Why undermine public efforts for universal mask wearing? Because he is never wrong.
Why was there that bizarre elimination of tax deductions for football stadium seats even though it would disproportionately harm red states? The only explanation I can think of is he has some personal vendetta against college sports. Maybe related to his failed involvement in football leagues in the past. Maybe he courted nfl ownership and was rejected. Maybe college football jocks teased him when he was young.
This is the only unifying explanation I can think of for the crazy, inexplicable actions.
Even if you disagree with the specifics — why would Trump cut funds for testing and tracing? Why would he undermine efforts for universal mask wearing? There is only one possible explanation: that he has more basic, primal drives than his own rational self-interest.
I have been trying to understand why does Trump do the things he does? Many of them defy rational explanation.
And the best explanation I can think of is that Trump has 4 basic, core drives:
1) The desire for revenge and to harm anyone he thinks has ever wronged him (including anyone who has ever criticised him or even recused themselves)
2) A desire to always appear right, to never admit he was wrong about anything, ever, to never appear “weak” or like a “loser”
3) His desire to be successful as a president/businessman
4) A desire to be worshipped, to stand before large crowds of people screaming his name in adulation
People keep thinking he will do the right thing in terms of pandemic response because of drive #3 (to be a successful president), but during a pandemic, the primacy of his drives #1 (revenge) and #2 (to never be wrong, to never “appear weak”) dominate, superceding his own rational interests.
Incidentally, I think this is why a core of his supporters will follow him no matter what he does — because they share his drive #1 — to harm and take revenge on perceived enemies (on immigrants, on elites, on coastal dwellers, on African Americans), no matter what is happening to America in the process.
Why cut testing and tracing funds? To never appear wrong and never admit failure.
Why force schools to re-open when it is terribly unsafe to do so? I honestly think he has longstanding anger toward public schools, educators, unions, and teachers unions and wants public school teachers to suffer.
Why undermine public efforts for universal mask wearing? Because he is never wrong.
Why was there that bizarre elimination of tax deductions for football stadium seats even though it would disproportionately harm red states? The only explanation I can think of is he has some personal vendetta against college sports. Maybe related to his failed involvement in football leagues in the past. Maybe he courted nfl ownership and was rejected. Maybe college football jocks teased him when he was young.
This is the only unifying explanation I can think of for the crazy, inexplicable actions.
Even if you disagree with the specifics — why would Trump cut funds for testing and tracing? Why would he undermine efforts for universal mask wearing? There is only one possible explanation: that he has more basic, primal drives than his own rational self-interest.