There’s a big part of me that really just wants to revel in the fact that you can read that headline and know in your heart, without me even giving you an explanation or a link or any context whatsoever, that it’s 100 percent true.
I won’t leave you hanging like that though, because the very real, very pathetic story behind it is just too good to keep to myself.
In a hilariously-titled piece published in the Washington Post on Tuesday (“‘He just picks up’: Trump and the lawmakers he loves to talk to on the phone“), reporters Seung Min Kim and Josh Dawsey examine the teenage-like relationship between Trump and his favorite members of Congress, who he often calls just to chat, or possibly in hopes that they’ve got some positive things to say to — about — their President.
Describing one such call with Oklahoma Senator James “Snow Disproves Global Warming” Inhofe, the report says Trump called the octogenarian as soon as he stepped off Air Force One after returning from Iraq — indicating he’d either been thinking about Inhofe for some time or that they’re such good friends that calling up his buddy Jim occurred to him before he got a cheeseburger, took a leak, or checked in with his wife.
That’s disturbing, but even more disturbing is the number of lawmakers on his speed dial: Inhofe (R-OK), David Perdue (R-GA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tom Cotton (R-AK), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rick Scott (R-FL), and a number of others all make the list — and among his most dialed numbers is of course that of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has become such an integral part of Trump’s obstructionary presidency that one struggles to imagine how Donald could possibly manage without regular contact.
From the article:
Trump regularly calls senators if he sees news about their states. Other times, he talks about what he just saw on television or asks about golf. [Senator John] Barrasso [R-WY] said their calls, usually about 10 minutes or so, span several topics and sometimes are prompted by a Barrasso appearance on cable television or a Sunday political talk show.
Republican senators say they also have called Trump just to offer positive reinforcement and praise. Inhofe recalled going on a tour of rural towns throughout his state recently and hearing from voters about how much they adored the president.”
This is hardly surprising from a President who is so obsessed with positive reinforcement that he outright lies about how well he’s received during appearances that we can actually all see the reactions to. But seeing how many Republican lawmakers — oh, and that pesky Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia — have essentially become supplicants to the President is disheartening at least and disgusting at best.
Featured image via screen capture
