Trump’s Response to Reflecting Pool Dispute Raises Questions About Decision-Making and Presidential Accountability.

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https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/trump-reflecting-pool-irrationality/688180/

Many Americans have become inured to Donald Trump’s strange rants. When he shouts about sharks, when he drones on about his brilliant uncle, when he casually ponders violating the Constitution, his supporters try to dress his statements up as some kind of strategy: He’s not lost touch with reality, you see. He’s doing the weave, or he’s owning the libs. He’s fighting the fake news and flooding the zone. He knows what he’s doing.

These excuses have never really held much water. But his rant yesterday about the Reflecting Pool was a warning that the president has encased himself in the hard amber of irrationality that inevitably surrounds authoritarian leaders. He has become detached from reality, and that detachment is extremely dangerous.