You realize, media, Trump is trolling you with this Putin business

If the media' take is to be believed, then the same guy who manipulated a hostile media all throughout the primaries and the general election - and won the presidency doing so - is now so clueless that he constantly slobbers all over Russian strongman Vladimir Putin - much to the dismay of the entire country - and he has absolutely no idea that he's getting killed in the press for it. That's what you think is happening? Think about it another way: Ever since he announced his candidacy, Trump has followed a pattern with the media:

1. Trump makes statements media considers outrageous.
2. Media hyperventilates, going wall-to-wall with Trump denounciations and declaring that they've finally got him this time.
3. Trump pays no price whatsoever at the polls.
4. Trump wins the presidency.

Remember when Trump declared that he could shoot someone and he wouldn't lose any support? This was a classic example. The media thought that by huffing and puffing about this remark for days on end, they could impose real damage on him. They imposed no damage, for exactly the reason Trump expected: The voters knew Trump was using hyperbole to demonstrate that his supporters were concerned about the governing decisions he would make in the Oval Office, not about whatever "gaffe" the media thought he had committed. And by making the statement, he brought about the very media reaction that proved his point. Now here we are in the transition phase, and Trump observes that the media are going bananas over the notion the Trump has some sort of bromance with Vladimir Putin. A conventional politician would bend over backwards to look tough vis-a-vis the Russians, and to assure everyone not to worry because he would be really, really tough. This would accomplish absolutely nothing, as he would look either defensive or trying too hard. Trump takes exactly the opposite approach. He trolls, knowing full well what the media will do:

Russians are playing @CNN and @NBCNews for such fools - funny to watch, they don't have a clue! @FoxNews totally gets it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016

Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016

Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2016

Do you really think Trump is cluelessly expressing admiration for Putin?

Do you really think Trump is cluelessly expressing admiration for Putin, having no idea that he's going to get roundly criticized and mocked for doing so? Remember, so much of Trump's political success has come after he manipulated the media into portraying him as an inept fool, thus setting him up to look successful on the basis of such low expectations. Also, the media have a piling-on impulse the public doesn't like, and Trump knows that he can bait them into indulging that impulse. Harder to figure out is Trump's geopolitical game here vis-a-vis Putin. It might be a matter of setting Putin up with what sounds like sincere praise, even as you're preparing to take a much harder line when you get down to real business. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you're about to go up against someone, and that person can't stop telling you how good you look, how smart you are . . . he's getting inside your head. I'm not sure that's what Trump is doing with Putin, but I know he wants the media to believe going into his presidency that he's pro-Putin and pro-Russia, and all he has to do is let loose with the occasional tweet and they're doing his work for him. By the way, Trump has never been better on Twitter than he was on New Years Eve. It's going to be a hilarious four years.

Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2016

Dan's new novel, BACKSTOP, is a story of spiritual warfare and baseball. Download it from Amazon here!