The following article by Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website August 23, 2017:
In the span of 48 hours this week, President Trump has boomeranged among three roles: the commander in chief, the divider and the uniter.
Like a contestant on one of his reality TV shows, Trump has taken on contrasting personas, showcasing divergent traits with flourishes seemingly to survive another day of his beleaguered presidency. Or, as Trump the television producer might put it, to keep up the ratings.
On Monday night at Fort Myer in Virginia, before hundreds of uniformed military members, he announced a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan with sobriety and seriousness. Reading from a teleprompter script, he ruminated about the gravity of his office and vowed to win a deeply unpopular conflict that, at 16 years, is the United States’ longest war. Continue reading “Trump’s whiplash: Three personas in three speeches, but the same president”