Trump Succeeds at Preserving His Ignorance.

Trump Succeeds at Preserving His Ignorance. By Steve Chapman

https://www.creators.com/read/steve-chapman

Excerpt: Presidents can tap a fount of information unlike any in the world. A corps of foreign service officers, multiple intelligence agencies and thousands of federal bureaucrats exist to learn all they can about crucial matters and convey it upward. The White House can also call on professors, think tanks, advocacy groups and corporations. If the president can't find the answer to a question, it's probably because no one can. Being able to get all the best information gives the person occupying the Oval Office a unique perspective. How many times have you heard someone defend a president's decision by saying he knows many things we don't and must have sound reasons? But that theory doesn't apply to Donald Trump. He is the rare president who doesn't know things we don't know. He has access to facts that others lack, but they are wasted on him. ... Trump does not treat his ignorance as a flaw to be fixed. He treats it as a precious jewel to be protected. Far from handicapping him, it furnishes a rich supply of half-baked excuses for following his whims, and he strives mightily to preserve it. His penchant for nonsense, misinformation and falsehoods is as strong as ever. Anytime he has to talk about the substance of policy, he makes it plain that he doesn't know what he's talking about. He also doesn't care. In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he insisted that the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada. He later boasted, "I didn't even know. ... I had no idea." And why wouldn't Trump make things up to support his claims? He always got away with it before. When the boss (or father or host) is rich, opinionated and overbearing, few people are going to make a habit of correcting him.