President Trump is known for his showmanship, but he may have reached a new height (or new low) when, at this year’s National Rifle Association annual meeting, he announced a new executive order withdrawing the United States from the United Nations Small Arms Treaty, revealed he had brought the order to the stage in a folder, signed it at the podium, held up the signed order for everyone to see, and then threw his pen into the crowd like a rock-star guitarist rewarding a fan with a pick.
Before announcing the order, Trump giddily teased, “I haven’t even told Chris or Wayne about this” (referring to Chris Cox, the director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action and Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president), letting the tens of thousands in the Lucas Oil Stadium know they were about to witness a big surprise. “The good thing with me is you never know. You never know.”
Some might argue that “never knowing” is in fact a deeply unnerving trait in a president. But it is also an irreplaceable element of Trump’s appeal, and certainly the keystone of how he manages to dominate the news cycle almost every day of the year, two and a half years into his presidency. You have to watch, because you never know what he’s going to do next.
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