Trump enjoys the presidential campaign: hot air, bad jokes, no facts, bullying journalists, cheering and attention from supporters etc.
He did not realize (due to lack of experience) that once elected governing requires more intelligence & hard work. It's like when you get married, honeymoon is great but then there is daily life. He just wants to live indefinitely in that honeymoon phase. He is sleepwalking in his presidency.

Or he could just be playing the media?

Lets assume he isn't as stupid as he makes out, which based on that fact he is a vaguely successful businessman and convinced enough people to vote for him, isn't a stretch of the imagination.

It could be that standing up in front on the media and being a bit random, and forcing the news to be about him means that his team can get on and do the job of making policy, enacting policy and not getting caught up with having to explain their every move. The performing monkey does that - in spades.

I'm off to check whether there have been more posts on EF post-Trump or pre-Trump? And try to work out whether the Local are happy he was elected

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"Don't believe everything you read on the internet" Abraham Lincoln

That suggests an element of dishonesty, though, doesn't it?

Why do you think the administration feels the need to create smoke and mirrors when it comes to policy making and implementation if they are so confident that they had a "big win" at the election, and therefore the support of the majority?

If it's not dishonesty, it is certainly a nod in the direction of no-confidence.

That's what I thought for a while. But I doubt that now. Firstly because it's not really working, the press keeps calling him out on each and every BS - and so do the people all over the world - the goal would be press/people getting tired, saying sod that and turn to other subjects (there still are enough other subjects out there!!), no? So I'm kind of greatful to the press keeping at it although I admit I'm not their keenest reader
The diversion theory doesn't work either - his 'close the border to certain countries' was quickly reacted to - by people who's reaction can stop him.

I agree with Mr. Vertigo - and I've mentioned that a while ago already - that he wanted to win, it was fun, he doesn't really want the job / doesn't really know how to do it but most of all it's boring - and doesn't know how to get out of it without losing his face. Personal opinion only one day we might know

Would that be the case if a manager chose to protect his team in the workplace?

I'm not sure what is actually funnier - Trump being elected or the mass hysteria that has followed his election.

"means that his team can get on and do the job of making policy, enacting policy and not getting caught up with having to explain their every move."

Luckily the "fake news" media are not so naive or so stupid as to fall for that one.

For example, the Washington Post Trump Promise Tracker where they track the status and success (or not) of each individual Trump promise
Source

So far despite his time crowing about how great his first 32 days were he has only delivered on six promises, one other is broken and one is stuck.

Assuming he picked "the low hanging fruit" first then he has a lot of work to do to deliver the other 52!

Plus we have all these civil liberty groups who examine new laws carefully and challenge them.
Not to mention the leakers.

Can you provide even one example of his team making any policy without anyone noticing?

Yeah, but that depends on your interpretation of "mass hysteria", doesn't it?

It seems to be fashionable to peddle the words "hysteria" and "outrage" because it's a cheap and easy self-affirmation of pro-Trumpers' own beliefs.

Facing up to slightly less -ahem- hysterical, but more realistic words such as "pitiful" and "wretched", not to mention "embarrassing" doesn't give the comfort of that coveted confirmation bias that Trump supporters are craving.

It's always easier to reinforce your own views if you make the opposing opinions look over-cooked, doesn't it?

In principle, I agree.

But then surely it should be the job of his critics and opponents to watch and focus on his every move carefully and make sure he doesn't do too much nasty stuff behind his smokescreen.

But rather than doing that, they are running along with his narrative and making a lot of noise over the pathetic red herrings that he is throwing in their path. So in other words, the people who are making out that they dislike Trump are actually being his puppies and playing his game.

People are making out that Trump is the stupid one here. But I can't help seeing otherwise.

I admit I've not plunged into all the links on here but there are dozens which provide analysis on just that.

Depending on where you sit on the issue will depend on whether you agree with them or dismiss it as hysteria, fake or otherwise.

Yes, there are satirical links and just plain funny memes being posted up here on a regular basis (because, let's face it, it is bloody funny) but there are loads of thoughtful pieces on behind-the-scenes shenanigans.

As you say there is no evidence of any successful and hidden "behind-the-scenes shenanigans"?

Basically Trump and his team only have two options

1. Issue a new Executive Order and these are closely scrutinised
2. Take a Bill (or sponsor a Bill) to Congress which will be debated

I do not see any other mechanism for implementing a new policy?
Maybe someone more familiar with the American Politics could explain if there is any another route to enforce decisions that could be somehow hidden?

I think Trump/Pence will be a similar structure like Bush/Cheney, where the President is just the "face" but it's the VP who is actually making the policy and calling the shots. And I think/hope that Pence will be better than Cheney was in that regard.

But the thing is, e.g. Trump "knew" something about Sweden which was not true and you mean that the world should just swallow this because they have not lived in US...get a grip...spewing lies and propaganda à la Trump will affect us all...

Pence is pretty extreme but what is more worrying is where President Bannon fits into all this.

I'm surprised at you posting this. You're almost demeaning the impact that the US has on World politics and security. Worse than that, how do you know that you're not addressing Europeans who lost friends and family in Iraq and Afghanistan when they 'had America's back' despite the Second Resolution?

From 2002 onwards, I worked solely for American companies. I remember being called into work an hour before the start of a night shift and having 2hrs to read a 35 page document about The Homeland Security Act because, as of midnight, we had to implement it as an American company operating in the UK. Within a month, we knew the Act chapter and verse. Also spent 10yrs working out the NUCs (neutral unit of currency) on airfares, which is 1 NUC=1 USD, so whether you understand it or even accept it, what happens in the US has a kickback to a hell of a lot of us 'Eurotrash'...which, by the way, was a very entertaining tv series

Going off slightly, Dwight Yorke was also refused transit through the US en route to Trinidad last week, but that was owing to this...
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...-a7586461.html

I hope you are correct and policy is not written by the "white supremacists" who are close to him

It is clear Trump spends most of his time watching TV rather than developing policies

He could still appeal the decision from the 9th Circuit Court to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it's unlikely he would win. I think Congress is too worried about re-election to be on the record voting for something like this. That leaves "issue a new order" as the best option. Rinse and repeat until you get it right/legal.

I thought that too at one point, but I begin to think that Bannon and Miller are directing policy and Pence is batting cleanup trying to make things look like they're holding together.

He'll be like Dugin is to Putin. He'll hang around, whisper sweet nothings into his ear, but not really hold any power of his own.

Do you have actual evidence of this?

I'm not suggesting you are spreading "fake news" but..........

The corrolation between his tweets and whatever comes on Fox News or Breitbart seems to strongly suggest it. Look at the John Oliver from a couple of weeks ago...

Trump's new pick for National Security advisor is a complete 180° from the flakey, pro-Russian Flynn. HR MacMaster is definitely NOT Russian-friendly, as he's spent the last 2 years studying Russia's military tactics in Ukraine. And he is held in high regard by his peers, many calling him the "Colin Powell of his time". Even the Left-Wing anti-Trump media doesn't have much negative to say about him either. Hmm.