# Is the President having a Good Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571 "2017-10-11T14:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/1 "2017-10-11T14:36:59Z")
I am not getting the impression he is enjoying himself. He does things to amuse himself, but they seem to fail. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/2 "2017-10-11T14:51:02Z")
He shouldn’t be especially after what Eminem did to him at the BET, but Trump is thick, nothing else has got through, I’m sure this won’t either. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/3 "2017-10-11T14:56:24Z")
i hope he’s more miserable than he’s ever been in his life. And I hope it continues to get worse. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/4 "2017-10-11T14:59:19Z")
Moving from GD to IMHO. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/5 "2017-10-11T15:23:17Z")
He has a good time when he gets to play with trucks, or when he’s making the whole cabinet tell him how wonderful he is. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/6 "2017-10-11T15:32:46Z")
So, it’s been a while. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/7 "2017-10-11T15:37:32Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > i hope he’s more miserable than he’s ever been in his life. And I hope it continues to get worse. Well said. Maybe he’ll resign in a huff. We can only hope. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/8 "2017-10-11T15:52:09Z")
I think the answer to that question depends, in part, on whether he (possibly through his surrogates) is increasing his net wealth more than his previous activities allowed him to do. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/9 "2017-10-11T15:55:48Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Well said. Maybe he’ll resign in a huff. We can only hope. "You can leave in a taxi. If you can’t get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that’s too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. " - Groucho in _Duck Soup_ ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/10 "2017-10-11T15:56:36Z")
I hope to hell someone is having fun, cause I ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/11 "2017-10-11T15:59:13Z")
Today’s news is that he’s getting in yelling matches with John Kelly so it doesn’t really sound like it. And he’s had several people who were long time buddies leave the White House. His own circle seems to think he’s an idiot and a jackass. I think he’s increasingly isolated in terms of confidants and basic mental support aside from his immediate family. So probably not a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/12 "2017-10-11T16:09:20Z")
Everything I see suggests that he thrives on personal conflict and appears to be enjoying himself a great deal. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/13 "2017-10-11T16:59:49Z")
I bet he imagined winning as being a string of victories, as he outsmarted everyone, and all the doubters had to admit how absolutely brilliant he was. Not working out that way. Anyone who was happy wouldn’t be Tweeting in the middle of the night. Plus, he knows about Russia, and he is no doubt worrying about when it is going to come out. Kind of like “Telltale Heart.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/14 "2017-10-11T17:21:06Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Everything I see suggests that he thrives on personal conflict and appears to be enjoying himself a great deal. > [@Voyager](#): > > I bet he imagined winning as being a string of victories, as he outsmarted everyone, and all the doubters had to admit how absolutely brilliant he was. > Not working out that way. There’s that. “Thrives on conflict” only really works when you’re winning the conflicts. Trump was (and likely still is) upset that his victory is viewed with an asterisk between losing the popular vote and the Russia affair. He hasn’t been able to shake the Russia investigation despite his best efforts. ACA repeal died, his candidate for AL senate lost (and he petulantly deleted all his Tweets supporting the guy), tax reform may be dead in the water or only result in some minor cuts, any positive hurricane news was wiped out by Puerto Rico, etc. Trump hates being seen as a loser, as reflected in things like him picking fights with the NFL to distract people from the major failure of a GOP majority to repeal Obamacare. This is a guy who repeatedly insisted that his inauguration had more people than Obama’s despite clear evidence to the contrary. It’s all about trying to win respect for him and he keeps stumbling in his attempts. Anyway, maybe he’s having fun. I’m not there to know. Doesn’t really look like it to me. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/15 "2017-10-11T17:29:51Z")
Hasn’t he directly said he misses his own life? To me it’s painfully obvious that he hates the job of being president. He loves his rallies, people cheering his lines, and when/if he can get the press to say he did something not-awful. Actually being a responsible person that doesn’t get everything he wants because he wants it right now damnit?! No, no fun there. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/16 "2017-10-11T17:48:57Z")
Well, Donny, there’s an easy fix for all of that. It wouldn’t even take 140 characters. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/17 "2017-10-11T17:50:08Z")
He must be having a good time. Obviously he is not concerned with making errors, or looking stupid. He does whatever he wants regardless of how it is perceived. He has a special mirror. And he sees only what he wants to see. Why wouldn’t he be having a good time? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/18 "2017-10-11T17:56:39Z")
I think he’s very frustrated that he can’t just snap his fingers and have his will / whim acted upon unquestioningly by the rest of the government. I also think that he had no idea that being president involved having to be involved in (and give a damn about) a lot of minutiae. I think he loves the title, and the adulation (when he gets it, which is why he does more rallies than press conferences), but he hates the job itself. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/19 "2017-10-11T18:00:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > "You can leave in a taxi. If you can’t get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that’s too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. " > > - Groucho in _Duck Soup_ Ah, the classics. They still work so well. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571/20 "2017-10-11T18:12:24Z")
I think posters are making a fundamental mistake, in assuming that what normal people find fun is the same as what Trump finds fun. Trump is a mean man who thrives on conflict and demeaning people, then firing them. He’s having the time of his life! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-having-a-good-time/798571.md?page=2)