Trump incapable of being the "comforter in chief" in a time of tragedy.

Top analytic reporters at the New York Times, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, have contributed an important piece of analysis concerning the most recent shooting tragedy and President Trump's response.    Here are some excerpts from their article, published in the Times on Sunday.   It's titled:   "Analysis:  For Trump, Dutiful Words of Grief, Then Off to the Next Flight."

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"For months, Republican officials have complained privately that President Trump lacks the ability to confront moments of crisis with moral clarity, choosing to inflame the divisions that have torn the country apart rather than try to bring it together.

"It took the importuning of his Jewish daughter and son-in-law to craft a powerful statement of outrage at anti-Semitism after Saturday’s slaughter at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Then Mr. Trump went back into partisan mode, assailing his enemies. By the evening’s end he was tweeting about baseball, and on Sunday he went after another foe. . . . 

"Even some supporters call him tone-deaf, and critics say his fire-and-fury style has fueled a toxic moment in American history, while defenders bristle at what they consider opportunistic attacks by opponents interested only in tearing him down.

"The deaths of 11 worshipers [at a synagogue] in Pittsburgh revived questions about what signals Mr. Trump has sent, intentionally or not, to the most radical fringe elements of society. As the president notes, members of his family are Jewish and he has been perhaps the staunchest supporter of Israel to sit in the Oval Office. Yet his castigation of 'globalists,' seen by some as code for Jews, and his attacks on George Soros, the billionaire financier of liberal causes, have unsettled Jewish leaders.

“'These words are like sparks to the gasoline of disturbed minds,' said Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official running as a Democrat for Congress in New Jersey. 'These words can kill.'

"Mr. Trump’s team rejected any linkage between his language and the acts of isolated extremists. . . .  Vice President Mike Pence told NBC News. . . 'I just don’t think you can connect it to acts or threats of violence.' . . .

"The president has made clear he does not see national harmony as his mission. He mocks the notion of being 'presidential,' and the crowds at his rallies egg him on, eager for him to 'tone it up' rather than 'tone it down,' as he puts it. He reads the dutiful words of unity and grief . . . that aides put in front of him, but he refuses to stick to the script. His people want a fighter, in his view, and he plans to give it to them. . . .

"Inside the White House, advisers veer between resolve, resignation and resentment — struggling to get Mr. Trump to do and say what a typical president might, frustrated that he does not always heed their guidance and bitter that his critics are piling on. Sometimes they take it upon themselves to do what he will not. . . . 

"Urged on by his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, the president made plans to travel to Pittsburgh this week.  But he saw no reason to dispense with his campaign schedule or adjust his message. Within minutes of expressing outrage at anti-Semitism at a rally in Illinois on Saturday night, he attacked Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California who had been targeted in last week’s spate of bomb scares. . . .

"By Sunday morning, Mr. Trump was attacking another opponent who had been sent a bomb, 'Wacky Tom Steyer,' the liberal California billionaire leading a campaign to impeach the president. . . . 

"By the end of the day, he was lashing out at the media again. 'The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country,' he wrote.  'Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!' . . .

"Mr. Kushner insisted that his father-in-law 'is not anti-Semitic' but merely 'careless in retweeting imagery that can be interpreted as offensive.' . . .

"Mr. Trump had already voiced frustration that the attempted bombings diverted attention from his closing message during the campaign. With Mr. Trump indicating he will not cancel his rallies, some in his party braced for a split-screen week that they feared could drive even more moderates away . . . [with images of] the president hurling bolts at Democrats while funeral services are held in Pittsburgh.

“'The events of the last week have rendered these rallies an even bigger double-edged sword,' said David Axelrod, the former senior adviser to Mr. Obama.  'How do you call for unity in one breath and whip up the crowd into a state of rage about perceived enemies the next?' . . . ."

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As I see it, there's an even larger problem than Trump's communication style and his prioritizing planned campaign events over national tragedies.

Trump does not see himself as the president of all the people.   He is the president of his base and others who will vote for him and be loyal to him.

That is the core problem in this presidency.   I don't think he is going to change.   We will have to change congress on November 6th, taking away some of the power he now has.  And then change presidents in 2020.   That means:   Go Vote!!!

Ralph