President Donald Trump's official daily schedule was so light that it raises questions about who is actually running the country, a political analyst argued.
During a Tuesday episode of The David Pakman Show, progressive political commentator David Pakman walked through the president's published itinerary. Pakman argued that almost none of it amounts to governing.
Trump's first substantive event was a 12:30 p.m. policy meeting, Pakman noted. It comes hours after a block the White House labels "executive time," which begins at 8 a.m., according to Pakman.
"This is a euphemism that they created during Trump's first term," Pakman said. "And it basically means Trump's watching TV, posting online, and calling sycophants who are willing to tell him he's doing a great job."
The rest of the day was equally thin, Pakman noticed. A prerecorded interview took place at 2 p.m.; a closed-press policy meeting was at 3 p.m., and a "signing time" at 4 p.m., according to Pakman. Trump had no intelligence briefing listed, nor any news conference or public event, with the schedule winding down around 4:10 p.m.
"Today, we can't even identify five hours of work, three closed-door events, a prerecorded interview, and signing time," Pakman said. He argued that it leaves a glaring gap at the center of the presidency.
"Who's running the country before 12:30?" Pakman asked.
Pakman also pointed to reporting from Trump's first term, when leaked private schedules showed roughly 60 percent of his working hours were logged as "executive time" and meetings frequently did not begin until 11 or 11:30 a.m. Pakman said that the pattern has returned.
"Trump's older, he's slower, he's more confused," Pakman said. "And he's working a really restricted public schedule."
Pakman took aim at the president's self-styled image of boundless stamina, saying the schedule disproves it.
"This guy is working 12:30 to 4:10 and wants us to believe he is the vigorous, more vigorous than Barack Obama was in his late 40s when he became president," Pakman said. "We don't believe it. It's obvious it's not true. Just stop lying to us, please."
