Trump’s hype men like to say that he’s so smart. A tactical genius. Always 14 moves ahead of you libtards. Surely, the Trumpkins say, there’s a deep logic to the president spending the waning days of his campaign attacking America’s most respected public-health expert. Under no circumstance is Trump just blurting out a bunch of… Oh, who are we kidding. The guy has the emotional control and strategic wisdom of a toddler. “I feel like it's important to remember: He is never playing three dimensional chess. He's just eating a checker,” Molly Jong-Fast quips on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. “And, and the thing is, it was not a strategic move. He's just such a baby that the crowd started chanting, ‘fire Fauci, fire Fauci,’ and he can't help himself but wanting to fill that hole, that black hole, in his heart. And so, he gives the people what they want,” political strategist Tim Miller says. Rick Wilson chortles, channeling Trump: “Before I fire Fauci, I want a warm up by setting this bucket of kittens on fire.” No, but seriously. The craziest part about this crazy episode, The Beast’s Erin Banco explains, is that Trump thinks he’s absolutely crushed it on COVID response. “When the president talks about it to his advisors, he's reinforced by the people around him, who believe that they just killed it, that they did an awesome job,” she says. Plus! Bill Barr’s white horse! Marco Rubio’s parachute pants! Ric Grenell’s true obsession! New Jersey’s neo-Confederate dumbfucks! Bill Stepien escape plans! And Jesse the Producer’s first-ever Fuck That Guy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices