TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Being a billionaire president sometimes means confronting doubts that you understand the lives of regular people. That’s especially true for President Trump, who has built a political reputation for caring about working-class people despite decades of gold-plated living arrangements. On Wednesday [8-15-18], the question was put to Corey Lewandowski, the president’s onetime campaign manager: Does Mr. Trump comprehend the daily routines of most Americans — like pumping gas or buying groceries? Of course, Mr. Lewandowski said. ‘He loves to drive. I shouldn’t tell the story; I’ll get in trouble. But I remember he was driving his Rolls-Royce from New York City one day up to the golf course in Bedminster,’ he recalled at a journalists’ round table organized by The Christian Science Monitor. ‘And guess what happened, right? When you’re in New York and you’re on your telephone, you’re driving your Rolls-Royce up to New Jersey, you get stopped. Right? And so I remember, he’s like: ‘Corey, I’m going to let you go. I just got pulled over.’’ Mr. Lewandowski told the story with no hint of irony…Mr. Trump set off a fresh round of speculation about his understanding of the lives of most Americans late last month, when he claimed that shoppers needed IDs to buy groceries. But Mr. Lewandowski argued that the president is just like everyone else. He likes to drive (and sometimes gets pulled over). He takes his staff out for dinner.”
–Michael D. Shear, “Is Trump a Regular Guy? Yes, an Ex-Aide Says, Sometimes He Drives His Rolls-Royce,” The New York Times online, August 15, 2018