I’m not a political expert and rarely follow, but my observation of the Trump 1 and 2 administrations is that him and his cabinet make unforced errors. It’s like giving points to your opponent in tennis or hanging material in chess. There is no reason to give people who want to destroy you any points or chances, and adding that reporter to a chat was a bonehead move. The advanced chess explanations are mental gymnastics, from people who have never played. These are not GM moves. A grandmaster rarely hangs a piece and slowly crushes you even though you both have complete information and knowledge of the board. These errors seem to come from sloppiness, an unwillingness to learn from the 1st go, or incompetence from staff.