By now, most people know that we presently are governed by a petulant child and his many indulgent nannies. By now, most people are aware that we are at the mercy of his angry wakings and dark whimsy. Well, a lot of people are, anyway. But the last few days have been so far over the top that The Top looks like the Eiffel Tower as seen from the Kuiper Belt.

For example, it has been said by people groping thirstily for any drop of hope that the least troublesome, least crooked, and most inoffensive member of the staff of Camp Runamuck is Rick Perry, the Secretary of Energy. That was a nice thought while it lasted. From the BBC:

The US Department of Energy said the expansion of a Texas facility meant more "molecules of US freedom" could be produced and exported worldwide. The facility, based in Quintana, produces liquified natural gas (LNG). "Increasing export capacity from the Freeport LNG project is critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America's allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy," Mark Menezes, the US undersecretary of energy, said.

The Beeb helpfully reminds us of the days when the Republicans in the House renamed the fried potatoes in the cafeteria "freedom fries" because the French had declined to follow C-Plus Augustus into his pet quagmire in Iraq. It didn't start with Trump. He's just the end product, like freedom gas.

Meanwhile, the Navy is pushing back on a Wall Street Journal story that the president* is the snowiest and flakiest snowflake that ever flaked in the snow. From CNN:

"There were emails between lower-level officers, but once leadership heard about it, they said knock it off," a senior Navy official tells CNN. The White House Military Office provides military support for White House functions, including food service, presidential transportation, medical support and emergency medical services and hospitality services...The Journal reported Wednesday that a tarp was put in place to cover the ship's name since it could not be moved due to repairs. Three Navy officials pushed back on this claim and told CNN there was no tarp covering the ship's name when Trump was there.

"We didn't do anything to obstruct the name of the ship. The Wall Street Journal piece refers to a photo of a tarp covering the ship, that photo was taken Friday, May 24, the tarp was removed the following day," a third US Navy official told CNN. The official said they had not seen the emails in question, but was adamant nothing had been done to obscure the ship.

The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain Getty Images

The Washington Post clarified that, yes, the White House wanted the ship to be disappeared—The Philadelphia Experiment!—so that the president* would not have a nutty, but that someone in the immediate chain of command noticed that this was bughouse crazy and scotched the plan.

A senior Navy official confirmed he was aware that someone at the White House sent a message to service officials in the Pacific requesting that the USS John McCain be kept out of the picture while the president was there. That led to photographs taken Friday of a tarp obscuring the McCain name, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. When senior Navy officials grasped what was happening, they directed Navy personnel who were present to stop, the senior official said. The tarp was removed on Saturday, before Trump’s visit, he added.

I am aware that keeping the president* from climbing the wall is the principal duty of every White House aide these days. I also understand the Navy's desire to, well, cover up any indication that it is kowtowing to the tantrums of its Commander in Chief. What causes me to be dubious about the Navy's attempt, however, is that the president* leapt onto the electric Twitter machine to deny it ever happened and then blew the whole thing off in a very suspicious fashion, misplaced capitalization and all.

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I was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan. Nevertheless, @FLOTUS and I loved being with our great Military Men and Women - what a spectacular job they do! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019

"Not my problem and, besides, I got to preen myself among these very effective props who have to salute me and my bone spurs."

There are tens of millions of our fellow citizens who want four more years of this.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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