Unfortunately, this president still doesn't seem to understand that his personal feelings are irrelevant to his obligations.
Trump thinks he was elected ruler, but in reality he was hired to do a job.
And one of its requirements is keeping his mouth shut when he might want to spout off his opinions; another is pretending to respect someone he detests.
The fallout from McCain's death also demonstrates again just how badly Trump has failed in one of the most basic tasks of the presidency: running the White House.
The President's initial decision to withhold a White House proclamation honouring McCain was immediately leaked to the press.
We've seen this before: the extraordinary willingness of White House staff to tell reporters things that make the President look bad.
What's remarkable about this Administration isn't so much that Trump acts inappropriately behind closed doors, but that those around him are so willing to let the rest of us know.
It's not unusual for presidential tantrums to eventually wind up in the public record. It is extremely unusual for White House staff to run to the press right away. It reflects unusual contempt for Trump from his own aides.
And Chief of Staff John Kelly never really stopped any of that behaviour, though at first he at least succeeded in ridding the White House of some of the most inappropriate hires from the early days of the presidency.
Now it's been reported (and never really denied) that he's given up on most of the job, and is still there only to try to prevent any gross foreign policy or military disasters.
Imagine working in an office environment like this White House.
The boss is apparently so toxic and inspires so little loyalty that the staff regularly tell tales about him to the press (with the added bonus that the leaks make him that much more paranoid and distrustful).
The boss is also under investigation from multiple law-enforcement agencies, and several of his associates have already been indicted, with some pleading guilty and one found guilty by a jury.
Co-workers are apparently running around with recording devices running, either to enrich themselves after they leave office or perhaps to protect themselves from any legal liability.
And, as the McCain episode demonstrates, there's no improvement in sight.
- Jonathan Bernstein taught political science at the University of Texas and DePauw University.
- Bloomberg
