Donald Trump has no self control

It has always been standard practice for communications from American presidents to be measured, carefully considered, consistent, and judiciously delivered. Except for Trump, who in his first term governed by tweet, presidential pronouncements don't erupt spontaneously out of the ether. Which is to say, out of a disordered mind. Normal presidents don't blurt out into the world whatever happens to fleet through their immediate unconsidered consciousness. (Like ingesting strong sanitizers, for example. Or depopulating Gaza. Or taking back the Panama Canal. Or ...)

In a normal administration there's a constantly working policy apparatus that sits behind and shapes what the president ultimately communicates, which ensures there's some sort of thought process going on, that things add up and make sense. And that they're not just plain stupid.

Of course, Trump is the obvious exception. It's almost silly that I should raise this now, but I'm exasperated. You should be too.

And so it happened that in a Monday Truth Social post announcing the reinstatement of a naval blockade against Iran, Trump added that the U.S. "will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to ​ this very volatile section of the World."

Which was stupid, implausible, illegal, and at odds with previous administration policy, which had rightly held that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and that free passage is a requirement of international law. It was clear from the moment Trump said it that such an toll structure would not happen.

And so it also happened that by the following day, Tuesday, the whole idea was canceled. Just like that.

It's reminiscent of how Trump announced "Project Freedom" in early May. That was a plan for the U.S. navy to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. That lasted less than two days before being abandoned.

The problem is that the world gets to continually observe the workings of a highly disordered mind, a mind that is not worthy of the U.S. presidency but which nevertheless controls it. It's a cause both for embarrassment and for deep concern.

Of course, this sort of thing happens all the time, such as when Trump demanded, also on Truth Social, "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" very early in the war with Iran. How'd that work out?

But to refer to an embarrassing incident back in March is to lose sight of the fact that this kind of behavior occurs daily. It's a sad and sorry reality that the American president truly has no self control.

Think about how we got whipsawed by the constantly made-up justifications for the war as it unfolded. That Trump couldn't make up his mind about what he was trying to achieve demonstrated that he'd not given the matter due consideration in the first place. Which isn't how you're supposed to take a country to war. And so he just made a big mess of things.

Yesterday, when he backed away from his harebrained toll idea, Trump said that he doesn't actually "like the concept of a fee." Really? I mean, really? Then why did he announce it?

Trump also said that the tolls would be replaced by "Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making with the United States." Sure they will. The whole absurd thing gets made up moment by moment and barfed out into the world.

And so it always goes with this most unfit of presidents. Why do we tolerate it? 

Copyright (C) 2026 James Michael Brennan, All Rights Reserved

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