I'm reading Bob Woodward's second book about the Trump administration, Rage.
Woodward reports what people say and think with no editorializing. As you
read the thoughts and assumptions of the government officials who are
horrified by Trump's lack of conformity to the expected behavior of our
president's, what is most horrifying is not Trump's insanity, (something we
all accept as being real), but the insanity of the standards to which he is
not conforming. His secretary of defense, his secretary of state, are
horrified by his wish to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. They quietly
and secretly defy his agreement with North Korea, to end all of the war
games with South Korea. Everyone sees China's military buildup in the South
China Sea as somehow illegal and a threat to America. We're talking about
the waters off China's own coast. The very few times that Trump's instincts
to avoid or stop some kind of US military activity come to the fore, he is
seen as crazy and destructive and discouraged. And there is an obstinate
belief that Russia is trying to disrupt this country in some way, a belief
held by Republicans as well as Democrats.
Miriam
