Assuming we survive the Trump presidency, it will be a treasure trove for future historians, full of near-apocalyptic comic mishaps, racist blunders, and comedies of error with only slightly authoritarian undertones. To wit: A transcript of Trump’s early-presidency call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has been released by the Washington Post, and it is a doozy, rife with fabrications, miscommunications, racist provocations, and so on. Take, for example, this exchange, during which Trump and Nieto discussed the newly minted American president’s recent call with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull:
At one point, Trump expressed admiration for Australia’s refusal to allow refugees arriving on boats to reach its shores, saying it “is a good idea. We should do that too.” In a remark apparently meant as a compliment, Trump told Turnbull, “You are worse than I am.”
But the conversation rapidly deteriorated.
“I hate taking these people,” Trump said. “I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people” — an apparent reference to U.S. dairy farms.
That final aside from Post reporter Greg Miller is quite an editorial imposition, as “local milk people” could mean almost anything! Let’s begin:
While this is funny, it is also a lot. After all, it’s the president semi-comprehensibly railing against a world leader to another one only days into his term. Is this all too much? Is the speed of discourse on Twitter wearying you—the way it immediately atomizes a singular chestnut from the day’s political news and turns it into a context-free source of partisan insider comedy? You are not alone:
Anyway, the point here, as with “covfefe,” is that the president’s brain is not good. Remember, he said “local milk people” shortly after assuming the Oval Office—whatever is wrong with him is only going to continue getting worse.
Check out the whole Washington Post article for much more of his unique brand of talking.