On Friday, The Washington Post reported on Donald Trump's angry reaction to reporters who repeatedly yell out questions at him.
"At various moments throughout his presidency, Trump has vented angrily to aides about what he considers disrespectful behavior and impertinent questions from reporters in the Oval Office and in other venues. He has also asked that retaliatory action be taken against them."
“'These people shouting questions are the worst,' Trump has said, according to a current official. 'Why do we have them in here?'”
In response, professor and writer Daniel Drezner tweeted:
"I'll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a toddler."
But it turns out this isn't the first time he's tweeted these very words about Donald Trump, or a variation thereof. As Daniel explained on Friday:
Yes, the thread actually began well over a year ago, with a tweet on April 25, 2017, linking to an article in which Donald Trump's staff explains that:
"Once he goes upstairs there's no managing him."
Drezner's caption:
Since that day in April, Drezner repeated his assertion the next time the Trump administration provided a worthy example of their view of the President's maturity.
Which was two days later.
Since then, many more have followed.
Each time Drezner includes a variation of the same caption from his original Trump assessment: I'll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when ____ stops talking about him like a toddler. In the example above, it was GOP lawmakers.
While there has not been a post every day, there is one at least once a week. And some days offer a wealth of examples. For instance, August 4, 2017 offered three examples.
Drezner pulls his quotes from a variety of print media. The only common denominator is quotes must come from the President's own closest allies in the White House, his own staff...
...or due to pressing examples...
...the observations of his behavior while in public, like at NATO summits or G7 meetings.
Some days yield more than one example from a single source, like on July 11, 2018, when a Washington Post article provided two prime examples.
The staff quotes describe behavior like tantrums...
...and ripping up official documents in violation of federal law, namely the Presidential Records Act.
Drezner and the White House staff, GOP lawmakers and United States allies are not alone in observing a level of social awkwardness with the 45th President.
Body language and behavior experts analyzed how Trump sits, shakes hands and touches other world leaders. His handsy approach to French President Emmanuel Macron fascinated many.
While his apparent pushing of the Prime Minister of Montenegro at the 2017 NATO Summit drew ire.
He famously drew criticism during what should have been a simple walk with Queen Elizabeth the II on a visit to the United Kingdom.
And much has been written about his behavior around powerful women like Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton.
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