Donald Trump's LaVar Ball tweets cross a line even for him
CNN)Before 6 a.m. ET, Donald Trump had already sent two tweets about the self-proclaimed "big baller" LaVar Ball.
Here's the full two-tweet set:
"It wasn't the White House, it wasn't the State Department, it wasn't father LaVar's so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man's version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It's a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!"
Even for Trump, who has defined the idea of the presidency downward, these tweets are shocking. So shocking in fact that I had to check multiple times that they were actually from Trump's verified Twitter account rather than some satirical one. But, they are very real -- and telling.
At the root of Trump's personality is grievance and a sense of victimhood. He has spent his whole life -- in his own mind -- on the outside looking in. His father was a successful developer, but not in Manhattan. When Trump became a player in Manhattan real estate, the old money in the city wouldn't accept him as one of their own. When he went to Washington in 2011 amid public speculation of a potential presidential bid, President Obama and the rest of the so-called media elites laughed at him.
At every stage, Trump has been driven by these perceived snubs. His operating principle in life can be boiled down to "I'll show you. I'll show you all!" And he is forever convinced that he's not being given proper credit for things he actually has done. He will find any evidence of these alleged snubs and do whatever it takes to "right the wrong."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/22/politics/donald-trump-lavar-ball/index.html
