'Free-range Trump' has turned his presidency into an 'adult fantasy camp': analysis

Instead of focusing on governing, President Donald Trump spends his days chasing entertainment, attention and renovation projects that reflect a presidency stuck in adolescence, writes Politico's Jonathan Martin.

"Trump is living his best life in this second and final turn in the White House. Coming up on one year back in power, he’s turned the office into an adult fantasy camp, a Tom Hanks-in-Big, ice-cream-for-dinner escapade posing as a presidency," Martin writes.

"The brazen corruption, near-daily vulgarity and handing out pardons like lollipops is impossible to ignore and deserves the scorn of history. How the president is spending much of his time reveals his flippant attitude toward his second term. This is free-range Trump. And the country has never seen such an indulgent head of state," he adds.

Not to make light of Trump's actions, Martin compares him to the authoritarian leader of Hungary, saying, "yes, he’s one-part Viktor Orbán, making a mockery of the rule of law and wielding state power to reward friends and punish foes while eroding institutions."

But despite that, Martin says, Trump is "also a 12-year-old boy: There’s fun trips, lots of screen time, playing with toys, reliable kids’ menus and cool gifts under the tree — no socks or trapper keepers."

In addition to toddleresque outbursts, Trump, he writes, has play-time, noting all his appearances at various sporting events, "but Trump's cavorting goes well past sports" he says.

"A celebration of the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary in Norfolk becomes an excuse to preen on an aircraft carrier and commandeer the ship’s PA system to do a now-hear-this riff, as if Chris Farley had come back to life and was doing a Trump bit," Martin says.

"Any excuse to hang out with the celebrities who will be seen with him is taken, whether it’s Sly Stallone, Kid Rock or Andrea Bocelli crooning in the Oval. And hey, isn’t that Vince Vaughn?" he adds.

America's allies and foes have taken note of Trump's adolescent leanings, too, Martin says.

"Not surprisingly, companies and countries have figured out what animates Trump, same as every adolescent: presents," he writes, noting that "the Brits present a gilded invitation to Windsor Castle, the Qataris offer a tricked-out plane and most every other country pitches their golf courses whenever he wants to come."

"And these nations know not to serve him foie gras. Catering to Trump’s forever-young palate, the South Koreans offered beef patties with ketchup and gold-embossed brownies to the American president in October," he adds.

But when Trump isn't tottering around, what holds his attention, Martin says, "is the sandbox once known as The White House."

"It started with the gateway drug of a larger flagpole, then moved onto paving over the Rose Garden, and now he is constructing a massive ballroom in what used to be the East Wing that will tower over the rest of the building," he writes.

"Lest you think he can be satisfied with just one property renovation, look no further than his Oval Office desk, which includes a model of the Arc de Trump he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House," Martin snickers.

As for Trump's other priorities, well, not so much, he notes.

"Why be bothered to know the basic details of a potential healthcare plan — homework! — when you can do L’Enfant cosplay?" he quips.

Trump, he writes, "has no more interest in open government than a for whatever executive order he is ostensibly there to promote or a foreign leader whose name he can’t always summon. The point is to see himself on TV."

Trump, like most kids, also loves screen time on his electronic devices, spending "so much time on social media, posting all manner of content his parents would disapprove of if they found his account," Martin says.

But it's not all recess for Trump, Martin says.

"There are chores Trump can’t get out of. Yet even his most substantive work is driven by a longing for validation — namely the quest to be viewed as a great president, as he thinks a Nobel Peace Prize or his big, beautiful head on Mount Rushmore would confer," he writes.

"However, even the most acute case of arrested development can’t slow age. And the older one gets, the more they reflect their true selves. Trump will be 80 next year. Why would Republicans think he’d grow up now?" he concludes.