President Donald Trump stops working at 6:30 p.m. and then spends his evenings alone sending tweets out into the social media universe, watching television in his bathrobe or walking around the White House, trying to learn the interiors of his new home. The New York Times published a revealing portrayal of Trump’s first days as president Sunday night that did not cast the new administration in a flattering light.
“Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room. Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit. In a darkened, mostly empty West Wing, Mr. Trump’s provocative chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, finishes another 16-hour day planning new lines of attack,” the article began.
In his first two weeks in office Trump has insulted world leaders, dismissed the nation’s system of checks and balances and carried out a handful of his most controversial campaign promises, including a travel ban against seven Muslim-majority nations and initiating the process of building a border wall. Trump is working from the White House with only a small inner circle by his side, with his wife, Melania, and his youngest son, Barron, opting to stay living in the family penthouse in New York City. At times, his unusual style has prompted critics to question who really is in charge of the new administration. Polls show Trump has the lowest approval rating of any first-term president in modern history.
“We are moving big and we are moving fast,” Bannon told the New York Times. “We didn’t come here to do small things.”
After losing the popular vote but winning the election in a contentious election, Trump entered the White House with little support. Just 34 percent of Americans said he would be a good or very good president while 36 percent said he would be a poor president ahead of Inauguration Day. In contrast, 63 percent of Americans thought former President Barack Obama would make a good or very good president after he won in 2008.
Chris Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax Media and an old friend of the president’s, told the New York Times: “I think, in his mind, the success of this is going to be the poll numbers. If they continue to be weak or go lower, then somebody’s going to have to bear some responsibility for that.”
To be fair, Obama also quit his work day at 6:30 p.m. but then he started up again after dinner. “I’m a night owl. My usual day: I work out in the morning; I get to the office around 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; work till about 6:30 p.m.; have dinner with the family, hang out with the kids and put them to bed about 8:30 p.m. And then I’ll probably read briefing papers or do paperwork or write stuff until about 11:30 p.m. and then I usually have about a half hour to read before I go to bed . . . about midnight, 12:30 a.m. — sometimes a little later,” he once said.
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