Trump is both the progeny and propagator of this culture. Long before his political career, Trump dealt with constant tabloid attention. He was a reality television star, a New York City celebrity, and a bestselling author. He knows what audiences want; he knows how to offer a nonstop cycle of baby-talk and vaudeville, swagger and self-promotion. Trump loves attention, even when it’s outraged attention, because he can sell the latter to his base and garner even more accolades and (you guessed it) attention. He’s the navel-gazing president for a navel-gazing society.

It would be nice to have a president who drew out our virtues; who called us to be more than this, to turn away from our devices and the incessant cycle of internet outrage, and instead to strive to be good neighbors and citizens. It would be nice to have a president, perhaps, who asked us to consider what we might do for our country — or a president who appealed to the “better angels of our nature.”

We want, at least on an intellectual level, for our president to be reasonable, subdued, and gentlemanly. But subdued behavior doesn’t usually generate mass social media attention. We say we want another George Washington, or a new Abraham Lincoln. But we click on Trump.