Maybe It’s Not Great That Trump’s Supporters Treat Him Like a Toddler

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Like just about everybody else, we love watching little kids explore our world. There is something wonderful and inspiring about seeing them take their first steps and get right back up when they fall, their unbridled joy when something good happens, or how pleased they are when they discover a new skill or earn praise. There is even something adorable about them pouting or being grumpy and stomping their little feet when things don’t go their way.

That being said, we wouldn’t want them to run the country, lead a major political party, steer the economy, conduct foreign policy, or start wars.

Those are generally agreed to be grown-up things!

Which is why it is disconcerting that everybody in Donald Trump’s inner circle (as well as anybody who wants something from him) treats him like a toddler.

For example, we learned this week that the president gets a daily video update on the war that is basically a compilation of the most awesome explosions of the previous 48 hours. Since Trump’s attention span mirrors that of a child, these clips last a couple of minutes.

To be fair, he also gets other briefings and watches Fox News. Of course, the anchors of the right-wing propaganda network, knowing that their most prominent audience member is always tuning in, also try to manipulate him as though he were a headstrong child.

Brian Kilmeade, Sean Hannity, and Jesse Watters are especially good at this. They just keep saying things until Trump does them.

In January, Kilmeade repeatedly suggested that maybe Tom Homan should go to Minnesota to clean up ICE’s mess there, and, wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what happened.

And earlier this month, Watters, who isn’t exactly a foreign policy buff, talked about the importance of Kharg Island as “Iran’s oil lifeline,” adding that “if we seize it, it’s over.”

Twenty-four hours later, the US struck the island with a heavy aerial bombardment, and it seems like the most likely target for a US invasion.

Of course, if the toddler-in-chief is worried about putting boots on the ground, Kilmeade assured him that this wouldn’t be a concern.

“If you’re on an island, you’re not really in Iran,” he said. “You’re on an island controlling the infrastructure. You could be holding this area and still get around having boots on the ground.”

If you are familiar with kids, then you will recognize this as the “I’m not touching you” excuse.

Of course, manipulating children (or child-like presidents) by planting ideas in their heads, whether it’s a parent saying “Going to the park sounds like fun,” or an Israeli prime minister suggesting that attacking Iran would be great, is only one method adults use to get their way.

Bribes are another.

One of the easier ways to get toddlers to do things is to promise them something in return… like an ice cream cone, a toy, or a Boeing 747.

Because kids are so susceptible to being influenced in this way, one of the first things their parents teach them is to not accept gifts from strangers.

Not only parents, though. The Founding Fathers were worried that officeholders could be influenced by being given presents from foreign governments, which is why they added the Emoluments Clause to the Constitution.  

Little did they know that, some 230 years later, the most corrupt president in history would help himself from the candy aisle of life.

It’s not just stuff that makes kids and toddlers-in-chief happy but also acknowledgements of their accomplishments. In the case of children, this is reflected in the number of shiny trophies, medals, ribbons, and certificates that can be found in their bedrooms, atop living room mantles, and on refrigerator doors.

These tokens of excellence (or even mediocrity) are a way for grown-ups to say, “Great job, little buddy! You participated in a flag football tournament, got perfect attendance, or completed a charity run.”

In the case of Donald Trump, this need for recognition manifests itself in various groups and organizations making up trophies for him to “win,” like the FIFA Peace Prize that was supposed to make the president feel better about not getting the real thing from the Nobel Committee; the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful, Clean Coal” award he received from the coal industry last month (we really wished we were making this up because it is embarrassing that people are treating the US president like a child, but here is the corresponding White House release); or, the inaugural golden “America First” trophy Republicans presented him in a shameless display this week.

Mike Johnson: Tonight we have created a new award. We are going to do something we've never done before. We will honor him with a new award. He is the first ever recipient of the America first award. That is this beautiful golden statue here, appropriate for the golden era. pic.twitter.com/SFp174yTWo

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 25, 2026

Unlike everybody else in the room, Trump never seems to realize that people are just pandering to him.

Finally, adults also make children feel loved by displaying pictures of them or their artwork everywhere. This lets them know how important they are. In addition, by signing their drawings, etc., the little tykes can show off one of their most important new skills: the ability to write their own names.

In the case of a four-year-old, that’s endearing.  

In the case of a 79-year-old man who is obsessed with seeing his name and likeness everywhere, it’s just weird.

But that doesn’t matter to the many sycophants in his administration and the GOP who are falling all over themselves to come up with ways to show that Donald is a very special boy.

The president’s manic need for recognition just gives them more opportunities to suck up to him — whether it’s those creepy, Soviet-style banners hanging outside government buildings, the legislation Republicans keep introducing to name stuff after him, the new coin with his likeness that will be minted, or, as announced this week, the decision to put his signature on dollar bills being printed in the future (unsurprisingly, this is the first time in American history that a sitting president has been so honored, since the US used to be a democracy and not a monarchy).

It goes without saying that this cult of personality is deeply disturbing. What is even more troubling, however, is that those trying to curry favor with or manipulate the president of the United States know that they can easily do so by employing the kind of tactics that work best with five-year-olds.