This morning Trump tweeted his disapproval of the House’s vote to renew part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The part in question, Section 702, would in a roundabout way allow the intelligence community to collect information about U.S. citizens who have spoken to foreign nationals abroad without first obtaining a warrant. Though the vote would maintain the administration’s control over a sprawling international surveillance apparatus, and though the White House issued a statement supporting the bill the day before, Trump seemed more convinced by some shit he apparently heard on Fox and Friends:
“House votes on controversial FISA ACT today.” This is the act that may have been used, with the help of the discredited and phony Dossier, to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration and others?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018
Two hours later, Trump walked back the tweet:
With that being said, I have personally directed the fix to the unmasking process since taking office and today’s vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land. We need it! Get smart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018
That final exclamatory phrase—”Get Smart!”—is an incredible bit of language, in that it serves simultaneously as an admonition and a self-own. If someone else wrote that Tweet—which very much appears to be the case—they’re clearly making fun of the President for not doing his research on policy before issuing statements. Since it’s coming from Trump’s own Twitter account, it seems as if the President is telling himself to “get smart.” There’s no way Trump understands this, and there’s no way he cares.
Trump’s flip flopping on FISA echoes yesterday’s attempt to frame the President as a competent policy guy who can run the country. In an “open door” meeting on immigration with party leaders, Trump confidently announced his support of the liberal proposal to pass a clean DREAM Act, which would protect 800,000 DACA recipients from deportation without increases in border security. House majority leader Kevin McCarthy quickly corrected the president, saying that an agreement on DACA would require increased security measures. Throughout the rest of the meeting, the President muddied his position by trying to clarify it, and eventually walked back his support—where else?—on Twitter.
The United States needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval. The safety and security of our country is #1! pic.twitter.com/4CFzQXb5aS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018
Since the publication of Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury, a book of goblins gossiping about Trump’s inherent inability to run the country, Trump and his handlers have been desperately trying to make the president look mentally capable of being the president. They are now 0 for 2.
From these two episodes, we learn what we already know about Trump. A morning show on Fox News shapes his world view. He’s disconnected from the policy positions of his own administration, and largely unfamiliar with Republican talking points. His attempts to sound smart make him sound less smart. He’s bad man who’s bad at his job, and the GOP-led Congress is content to let this continue so long as he promises to sign their horrible, murderous bills into law.
