Consider what we’ve learned in just the last week:
- In a discussion with sheriffs, “the White House transcript of the president’s remarks about [civil asset] forfeiture shows he literally does not know what he is talking about, which suggests this ‘law and order’ president is happy to go along with whatever cops want, even if he has no idea what it is.”
- During a phone call with Vladimir Putin: “When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, these sources said.”
- From a White House leak: “President Donald Trump was confused about the dollar: Was it a strong one that’s good for the economy? Or a weak one?”
The President of the United States doesn’t know about civil asset forfeiture, the New START treaty or whether a strong/weak dollar is good for the economy. One can only wonder what else he doesn’t know that might be critical for his current job.
This lack of knowledge should concern us for many reasons. It is not simply that his ignorance is vast. When that is combined with an affinity for conspiracy theories, it becomes weaponized. Secondly, as we’ve known for a while now, Trump has an incredibly short attention span and is reported to have demanded that briefing memos be no more than one page – thereby limiting the possibility that his ignorance can be abated. Finally, there is that old proverb: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” This president loves nothing more than to bloviate on things he is ignorant about, removing all doubt that he is a fool.
