Trump Learns the Presidency Is “More Work” Than His Old Job

“I thought it would be easier.”

Imago/ZUMA

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Two days before hitting the 100-day mark of his presidency, Donald Trump acknowledged that the role of leader of the free world is tougher than he anticipated, telling Reuters in a revealing interview that the presidency is “more work” than his previous job.

“I loved my previous life,” Trump said. “I had so many things going. I—actually, this is more work than my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”

The melancholy reflection comes amid dismal approval ratings for his young presidency, along with a continued failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act and pass new health care legislation—something he repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail would be “so easy” to do.

In the interview, Trump also appeared increasingly isolated in the White House, where he described being in his “own little cocoon” due to constant Secret Service protection.

“You really can’t go anywhere,” he said, adding that he missed driving.

This isn’t the first time Trump has spoken about the challenges of being president. Amid the administration’s unsuccessful attempt to gather support for the American Health Care Act, the president admitted he had no idea passing health care legislation would be so difficult.

“Now I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” he said. “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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