Why is “Acting Presidential” STILL a Question?

My wife and I watched the “State of the Union” farce January 30th (2018).

As we were drinking our coffee this morning, we kept bumping into constant references to Trump’s behavior/words during the speech and his current tweets/actions regarding Parkland, Florida.

The reporters and interviewees on many conservative sites referred, with glee, to how “presidential” Trump spoke and acted at/about both events.This odd “presidential” remark actually began as a  question regarding Trump’s deportment during his run in 2016. Because of his tweets and verbal antics during his campaign, people began asking – “Can Trump act presidential?”

While he and other candidates in the 2016 field had their abilities to be president called into doubt, no one’s “presidential” deportment was questioned.

But Trump’s.

CNN commentator Van Jones, after President Trump’s first speech to a joint session of Congress in 2017, told viewers that Trump finally “became president of the United States in that moment.” [1]

 Jones is probably not the only observer who thought Trump pushed a “reset button.” Yet, Trump’s actions three days later and throughout the rest of 2017, made it STILL the most frequently asked question before any major political or representative event.

Even his SUPPORTERS STILL routinely say ‘…but he needs to act a little more presidential.’

Three days after his fairly successful, presidential-acting 2018 State of the Union message on January 30th, Trump appeared at a GOP Congressional retreat in West Virginia. 

Jenna Johnson of The Washington Post reported:

He bragged about all of the promises he has fulfilled — “promises plus,” he dubbed it — and claimed that his party is united like never before. Trump called on Democrats to work with his party, but added that it would be easier to simply have fewer Democrats in Congress.

Then Trump shared that Senator Orrin G. Hatch said he was the greatest president.

He actually once said I’m the greatest president in the history of our country. And I said, ‘Does that include Lincoln and Washington?’ He said, ’Yes.’  

“After several days of staying on script and acting presidential,” Johnson wryly noted. “Trump was back to being Trump. [2]

Acting presidential was a question during Trump’s candidacy, and after a year as president, it STILL seems to be a question. People STILL hold their breaths when President Trump tweets or appears in public to speak.

I now pose this question for ALL VOTING AMERICANS:

Why is he STILL president?

Food for thought.

Mac

Works Cited

[1] Borchers, Callum. “The myth of the Trump reset is finally dead.” The Washington Post, (February 1, 2018).

[2] Johnson, Jenna. “The State of the Union got ‘teleprompter’ Trump. The GOP retreat got the real Donald Trump.” The Washington Post, (February 2, 2018).