In 1885, an up-and-coming Ph.D. student named Woodrow Wilson wrote the book that would establish his academic reputation. Entitled “Congressional Government,” Wilson’s conclusions reflected “the declining prestige of the presidential office” in the decades following the death of Abraham Lincoln.

“That high office has fallen from its first estate of dignity because its power has waned,” Wilson wrote in his introduction. “And its power has waned because the power of Congress has become predominant.”

What gives Wilson’s 133-year-old musings on the American political system contemporary relevance is the Potemkin presidency of Donald Trump.

Not since Warren Harding (who preferred late-night poker games and drinking to governing) and Calvin Coolidge (who was paralyzed by depression after the death of his 16-year-old son) has there been a president as disengaged as Trump.

The reality of a president who has gone AWOL has been masked by Trump’s trick-or-tweet Oval Office style. By dominating the news cycle with his feuds and fulminations, Trump conveys the false impression of an activist president.