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What, exactly, is he saying happened? It's almost impossible to decipher. (Photo: Getty)
It's Difficult to Overstate How Unhinged, and Legitimately Scary, That Trump Presser Was
His sentences were scattered, fragmented, and hard to understand—including when he was smearing his accusers
Sep 27, 2018
"I was saying things that nobody in the room even understood," said the President of the United States. This was certainly correct, in a sense, though Donald Trump was referring to meetings he'd held with representatives of the Japanese government. It also applied here, in a press conference Wednesday featuring Presidential Monologues that wouldn't have been out of place tumbling out of the mouth of some guy on a street corner, hollering at passing cars. His mind flitted from topic to topic, leaving sentences behind in gnarled fragments with just enough form to expose the virulent impulses that lurked beneath.
It is difficult to pinpoint one moment, or even three, that truly showcase the range of unhinged behavior on show here. For instance, he once again magicked up the idea the United States was on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea before he was elected, saving "millions of people." Here he is suggesting the Chinese government has "great respect" for his "very, very large brain":
But perhaps the most critical moment was when the president seemed to suggest he always sides with the accused in cases of alleged sexual misconduct because he himself has been accused (at least a dozen times, though Trump suggested it was four and you could verify that with Sean Hannity), and those who accused him were "paid off."
What, exactly, is he saying happened? It's almost impossible to decipher. Some women were paid off, but some recanted their stories, but the stories were front page in The New York Times, but the Times wouldn't print that their own stories were fake, but the good things they said about him were front page in The New York Times. Does anyone seriously think this person's brain is functioning well? And did you notice when he said "another one had other things happen" as evidence one of his sexual assault accusers was paid off?
And then there was George Washington.
This is the most powerful man in the world. This is the man who Republicans in Congress think is doing a bang-up job, and there's nothing to worry about. This is the man vouching for Brett Kavanaugh. This is the man getting laughed at in front of the world. But everything's going great--just ask Sean Hannity.
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Jack Holmes
Jack Holmes is Associate Editor for News & Politics at Esquire.com, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P. Pierce. He also does a dash of sports and some feature writing. His work has appeared in New York magazine and The Daily Beast.
"I was saying things that nobody in the room even understood," said the President of the United States. This was certainly correct, in a sense, though Donald Trump was referring to meetings he'd held with representatives of the Japanese government. It also applied here, in a press conference Wednesday featuring Presidential Monologues that wouldn't have been out of place tumbling out of the mouth of some guy on a street corner, hollering at passing cars. His mind flitted from topic to topic, leaving sentences behind in gnarled fragments with just enough form to expose the virulent impulses that lurked beneath.
It is difficult to pinpoint one moment, or even three, that truly showcase the range of unhinged behavior on show here. For instance, he once again magicked up the idea the United States was on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea before he was elected, saving "millions of people." Here he is suggesting the Chinese government has "great respect" for his "very, very large brain":
But perhaps the most critical moment was when the president seemed to suggest he always sides with the accused in cases of alleged sexual misconduct because he himself has been accused (at least a dozen times, though Trump suggested it was four and you could verify that with Sean Hannity), and those who accused him were "paid off."
What, exactly, is he saying happened? It's almost impossible to decipher. Some women were paid off, but some recanted their stories, but the stories were front page in The New York Times, but the Times wouldn't print that their own stories were fake, but the good things they said about him were front page in The New York Times. Does anyone seriously think this person's brain is functioning well? And did you notice when he said "another one had other things happen" as evidence one of his sexual assault accusers was paid off?
And then there was George Washington.
This is the most powerful man in the world. This is the man who Republicans in Congress think is doing a bang-up job, and there's nothing to worry about. This is the man vouching for Brett Kavanaugh. This is the man getting laughed at in front of the world. But everything's going great--just ask Sean Hannity.
Jack Holmes
Jack Holmes is Associate Editor for News & Politics at Esquire.com, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P. Pierce. He also does a dash of sports and some feature writing. His work has appeared in New York magazine and The Daily Beast.
"I was saying things that nobody in the room even understood," said the President of the United States. This was certainly correct, in a sense, though Donald Trump was referring to meetings he'd held with representatives of the Japanese government. It also applied here, in a press conference Wednesday featuring Presidential Monologues that wouldn't have been out of place tumbling out of the mouth of some guy on a street corner, hollering at passing cars. His mind flitted from topic to topic, leaving sentences behind in gnarled fragments with just enough form to expose the virulent impulses that lurked beneath.
It is difficult to pinpoint one moment, or even three, that truly showcase the range of unhinged behavior on show here. For instance, he once again magicked up the idea the United States was on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea before he was elected, saving "millions of people." Here he is suggesting the Chinese government has "great respect" for his "very, very large brain":
But perhaps the most critical moment was when the president seemed to suggest he always sides with the accused in cases of alleged sexual misconduct because he himself has been accused (at least a dozen times, though Trump suggested it was four and you could verify that with Sean Hannity), and those who accused him were "paid off."
What, exactly, is he saying happened? It's almost impossible to decipher. Some women were paid off, but some recanted their stories, but the stories were front page in The New York Times, but the Times wouldn't print that their own stories were fake, but the good things they said about him were front page in The New York Times. Does anyone seriously think this person's brain is functioning well? And did you notice when he said "another one had other things happen" as evidence one of his sexual assault accusers was paid off?
And then there was George Washington.
This is the most powerful man in the world. This is the man who Republicans in Congress think is doing a bang-up job, and there's nothing to worry about. This is the man vouching for Brett Kavanaugh. This is the man getting laughed at in front of the world. But everything's going great--just ask Sean Hannity.
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