When Barack Obama was president, Donald Trump criticized him for not spending more time working for the country, and complained that he was playing too much golf. He stated that he would work long hours if he became president. He has often claimed that he is the best president in U.S. history and that nobody has done a better job with the economy, foreign policy or security. The main achievement of his tenure is that he has mastered the use of twitter. But a White House staff member has just leaked a document that contradicts his boasts. A daily presidential schedule shows that Trumps spends at least 7 hours in what is called “Executive Time,”–a euphemism for unstructured time when the president has no official functions.
So, nobody expects him to work as hard as Bill Clinton or Barack Obama who took a few binders with him to do homework everyday. Obama, like Trump, came to office not knowing much about governing, but he worked hard to catch up. Ronald Reagan worked only a few hours each day, but he always arrived on time. Furthermore, Reagan had a great, competent, staff, and he knew how to delegate, something Trump cannot do because he believes he is the only person who can do the job. It is irritating to hear Trump claim in numerous interviews that he has “a big brain,” and that he is in an expert in a number of fields including the economy, foreign policy, and the environment among other subject. He is not even a good deal maker which he claims is his biggest asset. Trump displays unjustified pride in his abilities because, like any expert conman, he convinced a segment of the electorate about his qualifications and talents. Let’s hope they sober up by 2020.