Trump's aides reportedly bait him into reading memos by sprinkling his name throughout

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 17 May 2017

President Trump has rather famously declared that he does not "have the time" to read, requesting White House advisers boil complicated issues of diplomacy down to one page of bullet points, maps, graphs, or photos. His National Security Council has apparently wised up, though; one person who spoke with NSC officials told Reuters that the council "strategically" includes Trump's name in "as many paragraphs as we can because he keeps reading if he's mentioned."

Trump takes his first trip abroad Friday with an entire parade of advisers and White House officials in tow. The officials preparing him for his trip, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, "are aware of how he absorbs information," Reuters writes.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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