In the same week that "The Simpsons" offered Americans a painfully incisive parody of everything that is wrong with Trumpmerica, President Donald Trump himself seems to be cognizant of just how much better things were before he assumed power — at least, for him.

"You're really into your own little cocoon because you have such massive protection that you really can't go anywhere," Trump told a trio of Reuters reporters in an interview to mark the impending close of his first 100 days in office.

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That wasn't the only observation that Trump made about how his pre-presidential life differed from his day-to-day existence now. "I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier."

Trump did not appear to have stopped seeking validation from his razor-thin victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. As he handed out maps of the United States from the election with the areas he won colored in red, Trump told the assembled reporters, "Here, you can take that; that's the final map of the numbers. It’s pretty good, right? The red is obviously us."

Trump even reflected on how he missed mundane things like being able to drive his own car. "I like to drive. I can't drive any more," the president complained.

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That said, the president wasn't entirely pessimistic. Although he explained that he refused to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner because he felt the media had been too unfair to him, he reassured his guests, "I would come next year, absolutely" — assuming that he felt treatment of him by the press had improved.

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