Trump is reportedly extremely annoyed at how hard it is being president

Trump holds a listening sessions with county sheriffs.

(Image credit: Andrew Harrer - Pool/Getty Images)

last updated 10 February 2017

President Trump is finding it difficult to transition from running a business to running the United States of America, Politico reports. Drawing on interviews with almost two dozen people in Trump's orbit, the president is described as both frustrated and surprised by the way government works, be it the limits to his power or the leaks and infighting that come with heading the White House:

Trump often asks simple questions about policies, proposals, and personnel. And, when discussions get bogged down in details, the president has been known to quickly change the subject — to "seem in control at all times," one senior government official said — or direct questions about details to his chief strategist Steve Bannon, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, or House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump has privately expressed disbelief over the ability of judges, bureaucrats, or lawmakers to delay — or even stop — him from filling positions and implementing policies. [Politico]

Trump's administration is also considering limiting the aides who have access to phone calls and transcripts, and is investigating staffers to try to root out leakers. Trump reportedly told an associate he was annoyed at the plentiful gossip "because it reflects on me."

In addition to the leaks, the biggest public concern for Trump is reportedly his press secretary Sean Spicer, whose combative daily briefings earned ridicule on Saturday Night Live and angered the image-sensitive president. Spicer reportedly "proposed cracking a joke about the send-up during his next briefing, or even firing a squirt gun, as [Melissa] McCarthy had done in the sketch," but a person briefed on the matter told Politico that Trump shot down the idea.