Trump Aides Avoiding Flights With Him Because He’s A Total Lunatic

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Donald Trump is annoying enough with his endless rants on Twitter about “fake news,” his lies, and his complaints. Imagine, though, being stuck in an airplane with him for twenty straight hours at a time.

Trump aides speaking on condition on anonymity with CNN say that they used to fight for the honor of traveling overseas as part of a presidential administration, but after a few trips with Trump, they now fight to avoid it. His current trip to Japan was dreaded by most staff members who will have to accompany him.

CNN reports:

‘Not always an eager traveler, Trump has complained in the past about the pace of his foreign travel or the accommodations arranged for him abroad. It’s his aides, however, who sometimes dread boarding Air Force One for a lengthy flight overseas, knowing full well the boss will make little use of the bed wedged into the nose of the plane.

‘”It’s like being held captive,” one official said of traveling with the President on Air Force One.’

Trump reportedly rarely sleeps, complains constantly about his news coverage, and goes on tirades about accommodations and slow travel. His aides don’t have dedicated sleeping areas and, when they do get a chance to sleep, they’re often woken up because Trump wants to discuss whatever random topic happens to be on his mind at the time. In short, they say it’s like “being held captive.”

‘Current and former officials have described White House trips as grueling endeavors accompanied by long hours, but several privately said the flights overseas are easily the worst. The duration can stretch nearly 20 hours. Sleeping space is limited. The televisions are streaming Fox News constantly. And if the headlines flashing across the bottom of the screen are unfavorable to their boss, aides know it’s time to buckle up for a turbulent ride.’

Aides say that Trump spends most of his time on Air Force One eating, watching cable news, and complaining about “fake news.” One of the reasons he is consistently so ill-prepared for overseas meetings is that he’ll interrupt staff while they’re working on preparations with demands that they “fix” any negative coverage he spots while watching television.

‘Trump has long insisted that he is treated unfairly by the news media, and if he sees something on television that bothers him — “which he invariably will,” one official quipped — he instructs his staff to fix it, no matter if they are at the White House or flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Often, instead of looking over his remarks for upcoming bilateral meetings or paging through a briefing book, the President will fixate on the negative headline that day, griping that none of his predecessors has been through such treatment.’

Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license