This is a fine example of what is, to me, the most cynically fascinating part of Trump’s contribution to the decline and fall of the US.

While the effect of his ongoing attempts at censorship is certainly sinister, the intent, I’m convinced, is not. He really isn’t trying to censor news coverage in pursuit of some authoritarian agenda, but simply because he’s a big, fragile, egotistical baby and he can’t cope with the fact that the press says mean things about him.

Again, the effect is the same anyway - it does advance an authoritarian agenda, and I’m sure that the people whispering in his ear, like Miller and Vought, are keenly aware of that. But I’m equally sure that the Toddler-in-chief himself doesn’t (and likely can’t) consider the deeper ramifications if it at all. He’s just throwing a tantrum that happens to serve the purpose.

And I think that’s an awful lot of why it’s working as well as it is - how he’s managed to retain the support of so many angry and stupid and misguided but essentially well-meaning people. If he was an actual crafty villain planning and carrying out an authoritarian takeover of the US, even the most feeble and slack-jawed of those morons would potentially reflexively distrust him. But an ignorant, overgrown crybaby who wants to get even with all of the smarty-pants show-offs who make him look bad? That’s something they can totally get behind.