The Child King

Today they put the King on his high chair behind the Resolute Desk. They told him to look resolute and concerned. They also forgot to change his diapers and he smelled awful. This morning they gave him the measles vaccine, and he screamed bloody murder. In his need for constant attention, he has made himself King. Later he said, “We’re taking all the dog and cat turds out of the sandbox. Musk is in charge of that.”

The King demanded lunch but will only eat McDonald’s hamburgers, and if he’s angry about something he throws his lunch against the wall. Stoking resentments, the King seeks retribution against all who thwart him or annoy him.

I could go on in this vein, but I’ll give over to Jennifer Carole, who did an analysis of Trump as man-baby. Here are some traits you may have noticed and a few of my obvious examples. And the list goes on from these toddler and early childhood behaviors through adolescence.

• • Bullying, mocking―notably Zelinsky
  • “I want,” “it’s mine!”―Greenland, Canada, Ukraine’s minerals
  • Tantrums―as noted above
  • Taking others’ toys for himself―the Panama Canal
  • Name-calling
  • Refusal to follow rules
  • Testing people
  • Need for constant attention
  • Oversimplifying complex issues.

Here are a few of the adolescent behaviors she lists:

• • Difficulty accepting criticism
  • Stubbornness and refusal to admit mistakes
  • Desire to win at all costs
  • Impatience and a need for instant gratification.

All these behaviors factor into Trump’s jocular approach to kingship. Yet kings for the most part are expected to be brave, strong and wise. They represent the morality of the country and its domain. They are the governing power, the sole authority.

Trump of course is a joke king in a democratic republic, as most of its citizens recognize. But the childish characteristics that determine so much of his behavior have turned the joke sour. His opponents, like permissive parents, have failed to exercise any discipline.