I've encountered some apparent-Trump-supporter sentiments amounting to "he didn't mean any of the shit he said so stop losing your mind" since the election. I've argued against this assumption before but I gotta admit, there's some merit to the claim. Trump, as I have explained here, is the platonic bullshitter. Bullshit is speech without its truth or falsehood on the speaker's radar. Bullshit usually has an ulterior motive. In this case it was clear: become President.
But I don't think he ever expected to be President. And I hope that now that he has ended up as President, like a dog that has caught a car, he decides that he wants to be regarded as a good President. It may involve a lot more bullshit, even in the best case. Trump is a bullshit artist. But he also seems to care about his daughter Ivanka's opinion and that of her husband, who as far as I know is involved in finance and thus wouldn't want to see American withdrawal from NATO. I think it will matter a great deal who gets his ear, and my best hope is that it's those two and that they have a moderating influence.
