As the pandemic rages, the president brags
Trump's obsession with his own ratings knows no limits
Does President Trump think he is still the star of a reality TV show?
The COVID-19 death toll in America continues to mount. As of Sunday, the number stood at more than 2,400 — but the president took little note. Instead, he was preoccupied with a different set of numbers: TV ratings.
In a series of tweets, Trump purported to quote The New York Times about the huge audiences tuning into his daily pandemic press briefings.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The tweets were very misleading. The New York Times did report that Trump's briefings are a ratings hit — but it also warned that journalists and public health experts considered this a "dangerous thing" because of the constant stream of "ill informed, misleading, or downright wrong" comments spewing from the president's mouth. Not exactly an affirmation.
But Trump's tweets were also, as James Fallows of The Atlantic noted Sunday, a demonstration of "complete amorality."
While doctors and nurses across the country battle the pandemic to the point of exhaustion, while thousands of families grieve for lost loved ones, and while tens of thousands more struggle through illness, the president of the United States is looking into a mirror, asking it to assure him that he is the fairest of them all.
Shameful. Even Trump's usual defenders seemed astonished at his misplaced ratings obsession. "Why bother to tweet about this, of all things?" Fox News' Brit Hume tweeted.
We know the answer to that question. The president is endlessly narcissistic, a man who craves the limelight above all else. We have known this since the 1980s, when he rose to fame stamping his name on every building, casino, and business that would have it. We knew it when he parlayed his first divorce into a creepy pizza commercial. We knew it when he went on Howard Stern's show to talk — even more creepily — about his daughter's looks. Donald Trump is one of those guys who believes there is no such thing as bad publicity. For decades, this trait was simply clownish. But he is president now, and he hasn't changed, even in the face of a pandemic ravaging his hometown.
Trump's narcissism is only part of the problem. The other part is that he evidently lacks any sense of history.
The president's ignorance about America's past — and his disinclination to learn what he doesn't know — is well-documented. The result is that he is constantly surprised by the routine challenges that come with the nation's top job. Over the last few years, he has asserted that "nobody knew" how complicated health-care politics could be, or that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, or that flu is a deadly disease. He is wrong of course. Lots of people knew these things.
Trump's ignorance of history doesn't just deprive him of the ability to learn from and about leaders who have confronted big challenges in the past. It also denies him the perspective needed to understand, or perhaps even to care, that history will judge him one day. Most presidents have a sense of the Oval Office's history, and act with an eye toward leaving a legacy of their own. His tweets bragging about his TV ratings in the midst of a pandemic only add to the pile of evidence that this president lives in the perpetual now, unwilling or unable to take a long- or medium-term view of the consequences of his actions. Tomorrow's historians won't linger long on Trump's ratings — except, perhaps, as a key to understanding his failures during the coronavirus crisis.
A president with obligations to something more than his own ego wouldn't have the time or inclination to preen publicly about his TV ratings. A president with an eye on history wouldn't use an era-defining crisis to compare himself to The Bachelor or a prime-time sitcom. A president with any real sense of "greatness" would aspire to something larger, better.
Unfortunately for sick and dying Americans, the president we have doesn't care about any of that. He just cares about being seen and praised.
Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Judge rejects Elon Musk's $56B pay package again
Speed Read Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her rejection of the Tesla CEO's unprecedented compensation deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
French government poised to fall amid budget fight
Speed Read Far-right and leftist opposition parties both filed motions of no confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden arrives in Angola for historic Africa visit
Speed Read The president intends to strengthen U.S. ties with Africa and counter China's dominance in the region
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published