I'd give Donald Trump an "F." This has been the worst 100-day transition in my lifetime. And I was born during Franklin D. Roosevelt's term. This White House is by far the worst-run I have ever seen, certainly in modern times.
John DeanI've been surfing so many years and it's a pretty strong part of my life so I'm not gonna give that up.
John DeanWho voted for Trump? Who are these people who, as he famously said, would let him shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still support him? It's people who want too strong a leader, who would do what that leader tells them. Similar to the Europeans following Mussolini and Hitler. There's a streak in humanity that likes that kind of leader. That's Trump's core. Authoritarianism.
John DeanTo me the fact that a Vice President can go to Capitol Hill and lobby for torture is just unbelievable. Just unbelievable! The fact that a small clique of attorneys in the Department of Justice can write how can we get around the Geneva Conventions so that we can torture during interrogations - I can't even get their mentally. And when you read their briefs, they didn't get there mentally.
John DeanTrump hasn't really done anything yet to abuse his powers. I don't even know if he knows what all his powers are as president. And that worries me. He will learn. After he learns how the presidency works, he could become much more dangerous, because his personality doesn't change. Once presidents find their powers, they don't give them up. They use them.
John Dean