Dear Don:

I feel no joy in writing this post, but I read the interview that Reuters published yesterday. One of your quotations struck me: “This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know I’ve been telling you for months that serving the American people as our President is difficult. Last December 11th I raised the concern that you were not taking advantage of daily briefings. Five days later I suggested that it wasn’t a good idea to ignore intelligence that you didn’t like. On February 9th I pointed out how little you know about the balance of power and the role of the judiciary in our government. The next day I pointed out that your ignorance of the START treaty puts us all at risk.

I could go on and on, but here’s my point: you ran on a platform where you claimed that you were smart enough to not need to learn how to govern. Now we find that you believed all along that running our country would be easier than turning a small fortune into a big one in real estate. Last year I suggested that if we look only at the numbers I’ve been more of a success than you have. Don, I tell you that my father, who worked for the federal government from 1953 to 1988, knew something you’re still figuring out: government service is complicated. It requires a work ethic, and willingness to learn how to do the job. I’m proud of him because putting food on our table meant he needed to learn, to listen, to hone his skills, and to do a good job. And he didn’t spend every weekend playing golf at Mar a Lago.

Seriously, call me.