Trump's addiction to TV news

I suppose if you're allegedly the most powerful man on Earth and suffering from a mighty ego, it's hardly surprising that you want to watch yourself on television all day, if ony to reconfirm that you really are the most powerful man on the planet. But the image of Donald Trump sitting in an armchair checking CNN and Fox News all day to make sure he is getting his name spread around enough is pretty sad. Especially when you add the extra tidbit provided by The New York Times that the president drinks a dozen diet cokes every day. You do wonder whether he has got time to be president of the United States and do things like make BIG DECISIONS. Eight hours a day he watches the TV news. What's going on? It reminds me of another sad image. After the spectacularly dramatic announcement by President Obama in May 2011 that US Navy Seals had killed Osama bin Laden, there was a terrific press briefing at the Pentagon given by a senior CIA officer who played us all a video. It showed Bin Laden, wrapped in a brown blanket, holding a TV remote control and switching channels to find any mention of him or al-Qaeda on the news to boost his flagging ego. I assume Trump doesn't wear a blanket around his shoulders but the image is about the same. Poor Trump, he has so few people around he likes or who like him that TV news has become his daily motivator, mostly to make him angry. If the newspaper reports are accurate, Trump is also so fed up at being marshalled by General John Kelly, his four-star Marine Corps chief of staff, that he has found ways to have chats with what mates he has outside and inside the White House without telling Kelly. "Don't tell Kelly" is now Trump's favourite order! I expect all US presidents in the 24-hour news era became obsessed with TV news one way or the other, but Trump's addiction sounds like a problem. Shouting at the tele is something we all do at some point but not eight hours a day. I think Trump should get out more.