Trump Realizes it is Not Easy Being a President

In a recent interview of Pres. Trump conducted by Reuters, he was quite candid. He revealed that he is missing his old life, which he thinks is much easier than being a president. He misses so many things that he loved to do when he was still an ordinary citizen albeit a successful businessman.

Reflecting on this first 100 days in office on Thursday, Pres. Trump said that he actually thought being a president would be an easier job. He was surprised that his new job was very difficult and involves more work.

As an ordinary citizen

The President said that he likes to be behind the wheel of his car. Driving is one of the things he misses, because he loves it. He misses the privacy that he enjoyed before. He added that while he likes to work, being the President of the United States is more work than he imagined. He also mused that while his old life was a little less private due to his work and success as a businessman and a celebrity show host, whatever privacy he had before cannot be compared with the type of privacy he has now.

Never knew

Right now Mr. Trump likes to bark, but media finds that he has yet to find his bite. He feels like he’s living in a cocoon. Mr. Trump is not alone in that. All his predecessors felt the same way. He still hasn’t completely moved on from last year’s election. In fact while doing the interview and discussing about the visit of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, he suddenly gave the interviewer and his team copies of the updated electoral map, showing the latest figures. What he gave them showed a map of the United States, with areas marked in red indicating the places where he won.

When he was still a private citizen he could move around freely. Trump said that until now he’s still trying to get used to the constraints that having protection from the Secret Service for 24 hours each day entail. Because he has to be protected around the clock, he said that he actually could not go anywhere he likes, as he’s transported to where he needs to go either in an SUV or a limousine.

The reporters noted that he hasn’t changed much from being a reality TV show host and successful businessman. He still works the phones almost non-stop. Senior aides in the White House have resigned to the fact that Trump does not seek their counsel. Instead he turns to business colleagues and friends outside the White House for positive support and advice.

Trump’s love-hate relationship with the media is well known. Due to his constantly being at odds with them, he did not make an appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. He said he felt that media is being unfair to him. Jeff Mason, the Reuters correspondent who interviewed Trump is the current president of the White House Correspondents’ Association that organized the dinner. The President promised that he’s going to attend next year’s dinner event.

He expressed surprise at the intricacies of many issues. He said back in February that he never knew healthcare is very complex. He also expressed amazement at the intricate geopolitics of the entire peninsula of Korea when President Xi Jinping started discussing it with him during the state visit of his Chinese counterpart. He added that he always thought that China had enormous power over the isolated North Korea.

Image Credit: via Wikimedia Commons