Trump’s Badger Curiosity

The questions would arise at such opportune moments as “when Priebus was attempting to brief the president on matters of healthcare initiatives, foreign policy, or Republican legislative agenda”, they wrote.

“Are they mean to people?” Trump reportedly asked Priebus, perhaps thinking of badgers’ very long claws, which it uses to dig the burrows that make its home. “Or are they friendly creatures?”

Trump would also demand to see photos of badgers, ask Priebus to give details on how badgers “work”, and wanted to know if they had a “personality” or were boring.

Priebus was also called upon to explain “how the critters function and behave, what kind of food they like, and how aggressive or deadly they could be when presented with perceived existential threats”

Markay and Suebsaeng said Trump would frequently derail important policy discussions with questions about the animals.

“An obviously enthralled president would stare at Priebus as the aide struggled for sufficiently placating answers, all the while trying to gently veer the conversation back to whether we were going to do a troop surge in Afghanistan or strip millions of Americans of healthcare coverage,” they wrote.

Trump did not specify which of the 11 species of badger he especially wanted to understand, but given he appeared to be obsessed with the animal due to its association with Priebus’s home state of Wisconsin, it was most likely the American badger – scientific name Taxidea taxus – that commanded his attention.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/14/are-they-mean-donald-tru...

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