A few days ago we learned, without surprise, that President Elect Trump receives only weekly briefings. The current President is briefed daily, and Vice President Elect Michael Pence is briefed six days per week.

There is no requirement that Mr. Trump be briefed daily, but a decades old custom has the President Elect receive the same daily briefing as the President. This election has broken many traditions, not the least of which is the election of someone who has never held office.

Others in his position have recognized the awesome responsibility of the office and the steep learning curve. They’ve recognized that on their first day in office the buck stops here.

Mr. Trump, on the other hand, bragged that I know more about Isis than the generals do and brags about not reading books.

In five and a half weeks he will be the leader of the free world. He will be awakened in the middle of the night and tasked to make incredibly important decisions in a matter of minutes. His decisions will impact the lives of members of our military, the population of our nation, and indeed everyone on earth.

And if his actions so far indicate anything, they indicate that he will be woefully unprepared. He claims that experience negotiating real estate contracts gives him the tools he needs, but it doesn’t. The President can’t suspend negotiations or ask the judge for a continuance. He can do his job only if he comes to the crisis with the background and understanding for the decisions he will need to make.

I pray he comes to an understanding of this before he stumbles too badly.