Trump Aides Tried to Cheer Him Up During Pandemic By Bringing Big Trucks to White House: Report

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With the pandemic ongoing and his poll numbers continuing to tank, President Donald Trump has reportedly been down in the dumps. And so the president’s closest advisers have sought to cheer him up in recent weeks.

By bringing him some trucks to play with.

On April 16, a fleet of 18-wheelers rolled into the White House for an event celebrating America’s Truckers. According to the Washington Post, that event was the brainchild of Trump advisers including Hope Hicks and Dan Scavino — who thought the best way to lift the president’s spirits was to bring him some toys.

From the report:

Other top White House advisers — including Hope Hicks and Dan Scavino — have also sought to buttress Trump’s mood with events they thought he would enjoy, such as celebrating truckers by bringing 18-wheelers onto the White House South Lawn in mid-April or creating social media videos that feature throngs of his adoring fans, according to aides.

Aides have also tried to get the president fired up with events like those at Mount Rushmore on July 3. Yet the Post article indicates that Trump advisers believe that night did little to put a smile on his face.

To some of his longtime advisers, the president has seemed tired, low-energy and lacking the passion and energy that defined him when he was a candidate during the 2016 race. Aides noticed he largely read his script at Mount Rushmore and did not veer off the teleprompters for high-energy riffs like he usually does when delivering political speeches.

Any glee the president might have felt from those event was apparently fleeting, though. The Post report went on to quote an unnamed outside adviser, who said that Trump, during a recent conversation, seemed “inconsolable.” His complaints have centered around the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, and the nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd.

Trump is said to be agitated over the media’s coverage of the protests, as he believes he is being blamed, and that there is nothing he can say to help the situation.

“[S]ome stupid cop in Minneapolis kneels on someone’s neck and now everyone is protesting,” the adviser told the Post, summarizing Trump’s rant.