From The Atlantic · John Dickerson · · 3m
The pinball president and the attention he wastes
Trump treats the presidency like a pinball machine, bouncing from crisis to crisis while ignoring what voters actually care about.
In brief
Trump treats the presidency like a pinball machine, bouncing from crisis to crisis while ignoring what voters actually care about. A president's choice of what to focus public attention on reveals their priorities and fitness for office. The next president should use attention strategically, not squander it on…
Trump as pinball machine
Like a 1946 pinball game, Trump's presidency bounces chaotically from topic to topic. Voters watch the caroming but feel powerless to control it.
The endless list of distractions
From the ballroom to Iran to Greenland to self-portraits as Christ, Trump cycles through obsessions while ignoring actual governance.
Attention without accomplishment
Trump dominates headlines but fails to convince voters he's doing the job. Sixty-five percent say his policies worsened the economy.
Voters see misplaced priorities
Only 27 percent of Americans say Trump has the right priorities, down from 45 percent at the start of his term. A record 73 percent say he hasn't paid enough attention to important issues.
The housing bill he ignored
While Trump obsessed over the Reflecting Pool, a bipartisan housing bill reached his desk. He called it a big yawn and let it become law without signing it.
“a big yawn”
An opportunity for voters
The Trump years offer a chance to clarify what voters actually want from the next president, beyond simply not being Trump.
The presidency is a trust
A president borrows the public's attention and must spend it on the nation's account, not their own. Trump treats it as his personal possession.
The ballroom obsession
By April, Trump had mentioned the ballroom on roughly a third of days that year, posting about it more than about tariffs.
FDR's lesson on restraint
Franklin Roosevelt understood that constant talking exhausts public attention. When he did speak, he explained. Explanation lets a president speak less.
Constant noise kills effectiveness
A president who is always talking cannot use talking to signal that something matters. Constant noise wears out the audience.
Government should protect, not entertain
UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell said the government is desecrating its role by entertaining rather than protecting citizens.
“is supposed to protect us, not entertain us”
Trump as chief grave dancer
When Rob Reiner was murdered, Trump blamed Reiner. When Robert Mueller died, Trump wrote, Good, I'm glad he's dead. Trump has erased the president's role as moral consoler.
“Good, I'm glad he's dead”
Charlottesville revealed his focus
After the white-nationalist march and Heather Heyer's death, Trump obsessed over counterprotesters instead of condemning racism. He sent 37 tweets about NFL kneeling.
Public attention reveals private priorities
What a president chooses to focus on publicly is our best evidence of how they sort the world in private. Trump governs by the Heisman hand, always in your face.
The Eisenhower Matrix applies
Presidents must distinguish between urgent and important. Trump spends 70 percent of his time on matters that are neither important nor urgent, according to reporter Maggie Haberman.
Questions for the next candidate
Voters should ask: Does the candidate choose problems a president can move? Can she explain rather than assert? Does he let a news cycle pass without joining it?
The flipper returns in 2028
In 1947, pinball added the flipper, giving players control. In 2028, voters will be in the game again. But that requires attention to the office now.
The bottom line
A president's choice of what to focus public attention on reveals their priorities and fitness for office. The next president should use attention strategically, not squander it on personal grievances.
