"The Most Exquisitely Awkward Public Event I’ve Ever Seen"
On This Day In 2017
“Great president or greatest?" asked Voice of America. "That appeared to be the question at President Donald Trump's first meeting of his full Cabinet,” OTDI 2017, “as top aides took turns piling praise on the boss."
In the Trump regime, the media are encouraged to keep their cameras in the room (where it happened) when his show begins. So they were filming as Trump invited each Cabinet member to speak. It quickly devolved into a praise session worthy of a cult.
Mike Pence kicked off the worshipping of their dear leader: “The greatest privilege of my life is to serve as vice president to the president who’s keeping his word to the American people.”
Sonny Perdue, his Secretary of Agriculture, reporting on his findings from a recent trip to Mississippi, groveled: “They love you there.” And Reince Priebus, who would be sacked a mere six weeks later, added: “We thank you for the opportunity and the blessing to serve your agenda.”
As the hosannahs continued, Trump couldn’t help rewarding his ministers back with baubles of praise when he heard something he liked: As The New York Times reported: “Thank you, Mick,” he smiled upon Mick Mulvaney, his budget director. “Good job,” he patted Scott Pruitt, his E.P.A. chief. “Very good, Daniel,” he awarded Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence.
As Stephen Colbert put it, “This is next-level weird. This is an unprecedented stroke-fest for an emotionally frail man.”
Even Donald Trump got into the act too, of praising Donald Trump. Nobody had ever done more in their first months in office, he insisted, bragging about leading a “record-setting pace” of accomplishment.
As The Times noted, “Never mind that Mr. Trump has yet to sign any major legislation, or that his White House has been buffeted by legal and ethical questions surrounding the investigation into his campaign’s possible links to Russia and his firing of the F.B.I. director who had been leading that inquiry.”
“It sounds like a scene out of a Marx Brothers comedy,” wrote Vanity Fair
Btw: The son-of-God comparisons have kept coming ever since that Cabinet meeting. Even just this week, another GOP member of Congress told a crowd: “The Democrats and the fake news media want to constantly talk about, ‘Oh, President Trump is a convicted felon.’ Well, you want to know something? The man that I worship is also a convicted felon, and he was murdered on a Roman cross.”
Dive Deeper
The New York Times covered it thoroughly
Vanity Fair had more color on the wacky event
So did VOA
@GlennThrush had our exquisite headline