Donald Trump Is Shocked, Shocked I Say, That Being President Is Hard

It’s a narrative out of The Onion, only this time it’s true. In an interview with Reuters, the President of the United States of America sounds mournful about his unexpected burden: “This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.” O RLY?

Just when you think Trump can’t open his mouth and say something more infuriating, there he goes and does it again. He thought THE MOST DIFFICULT JOB IN AMERICA IF NOT THE UNIVERSE was going to be EASIER THAN BEING A WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN/REALITY TV HOST WHO LIVES IN A GILDED APARTMENT IN A TOWER WITH HIS NAME ON IT? Sorry, I’m so full of blind rage I keep falling over onto my capslock.

“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,” Trump told Reuters wistfully. (The implication here that he … doesn’t have so many things going as President? Or does he mean fun things like golf and grabbing at unwilling women?)

ALSO, WOW, US TOO! We miss our lives before you stepped in to embarrass us on the foreign stage and threaten our rights, healthcare, and livelihood on the domestic one.

I miss not waking up in a constant state of panic, afraid to see what Trump’s done next. I miss having a President who waits for his wife to walk down the stairs with her, not a man who has bragged about sexual assault, lies when he’s not ranting incoherently, attacks my industry daily, and has white nationalists and his children running the government—when his picks aren’t resigning or recusing themselves because of ties to Russia. Yeah, I miss that time, too.

This also raises the question of just how much “work” Trump participated in as a businessman. He’s already taken more vacations in 100 days as President than most Americans dream of going on in years: 17 of those 100 days were spent at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida. (By the way, each one of those trips is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.) But even though he’s been on break almost every weekend, this is all just so difficult for him.

What did he do before, when he ostensibly ruled over many (failed) business empires? I guess the thing about being President is you can’t just put executives in place, put your feet up, and let the profits roll in. Especially if those you put in place to run the government are scandal-ridden and possibly beholden to Russia.

What I find most rage-inducing about this interview—Trump’s surprise at how hard his job is and how he sounds like he wouldn’t mind giving it up—is that he beat a female candidate who had trained her entire life for the position. You can damn well be sure that Hillary Clinton knew how hard it would be, and she was prepared for it, and she wanted it. But the unqualified, incoherent man who likely envisioned himself like a movie President—present in a few glamorous scenes, then relaxing in luxury somewhere off-screen—won instead.

Imagine Hillary Clinton saying a 100 days into her Presidency, “Jeez, this is so hard.” The Republicans would never stop screaming, and the media would tear her limb from limb. But this is the top-level double standard, and Trump just gets to complain to any reporter willing to listen and never care about what he’s saying or the message it’s sending worldwide.

Now we’re faced with a Chief Executive who is not intellectually curious, who is vengeful and quick on the military trigger, and who doesn’t even really want to be there. The worst part? It’s only been a 100 days, even if it feels like it’s been 100 years. This was supposed to be the “easier” transitionary time. We can’t even conceive of what the next 100 days will bring. Wake me up if it’s impeachment.

(via Reuters, image: Shutterstock)

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Kaila Hale-Stern

Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.

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