Sunday, December 20, 2020

[This] week Trump remained out of sight, staying late in the Oval Office and working the phones and television remote in his private dining area just steps from the Resolute Desk.

...he made not one public appearance

In the six weeks since his defeat by Biden, Trump has been increasingly disengaged from his job. The virus has killed more than 300,000 Americans and is now claiming more than 3,000 lives a day, but the president has offered barely a word... 
...
At the same time, he has relentlessly tweeted conspiracy theories and false claims about the election, incorrectly insisting it was stolen from him while taking steps to undermine the Biden administration before it begins. 

...with Trump largely in hiding, it fell to Pence...was the one who rolled up his sleeves and took a public shot in the arm as part of a campaign to convince Americans the vaccine is safe.
...
...throughout his presidency [Trump's] Cabinet meetings at times resembled “Dear Leader” sessions in authoritarian nations where officials gush compliments for the man in charge.

The tone was set at the president’s first Cabinet meeting, in June 2017, when the only subject for debate [was] whether Trump was a great president or the greatest.

There is only self-love there. Love does not explain his favored treatment of Russia.