Letter: Why are we surprised by Trump’s behavior

We have known for decades that Donald Trump is a pompous fractious person whose idea of empathy is a $25,000 check that may or may not be in the mail. His bellicose vindictive manner displays the execrable lack of empathy associated with insensitive narcissism. We have known him for decades as a self-aggrandizing vulgarian, the poster boy of the National Enquirer.

So why do we hyperventilate when he behaves in a manner that is consistent with what we know about him? Why do MSNBC and similar media have their hair catch on fire nearly every day given what we’ve known about Mr. Trump for decades? His normal feculent behavior is just what we should expect from him, makes no difference that he’s president.

We should be grateful for the occasional day that President Trump doesn’t seem to behave like Donald Trump. Cherish those rare days when we don’t have to think about how many people will be hurt during his administration, or whether he will start World War III, or what an embarrassment he is.

Don’t forget that we elected him, more or less.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Letter: Why are we surprised by Trump’s behavior."