Predictably, this sent people into a tizzy on social media. Donald Trump's apparent endorsement of Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of far-right group Britain First who has been convicted of an anti-Muslim hate crime, was a legitimately alarming reminder of his bigoted views, if not exactly shocking. But mostly, Trump's desperate scratching at his phone revealed a chief executive who has been historically inept in his first year, has no idea how to right the ship, and is increasingly frustrated by his own impotence.

Then there are the scandals. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had to resign in disgrace after his addiction to private planes was revealed by Politico. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was forced out barely a month into the administration because he lied about his conversations with the Russian ambassador, and remains at the center of multiple bizarre controversies that may end with him in prison or testifying against other Trump officials. Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner may be on the brink of going back to New York City, perhaps to try to fix his terrible real estate deals. And hanging over everything is the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller that seems to sprawl every day.

Is the president responding to this adversity by bearing down and helping his nominal allies in Congress get stuff done? No, he's tweeting aimlessly at his television, privately spewing nonsensical theories about how the infamous "grab them by the pussy" tape and Barack Obama's birth certificate were both fake, and doing lots of golfing.

Even a half-assed president wields enormous power, of course. Notably, Trump has empowered federal agents to arrest undocumented immigrants en masse (though the number of deportations is not rising) and has apparently endorsed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's hollowing out of the American diplomatic corps. His appointment of arch conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, along with many other judicial appointments at lower levels, will have untold long-terms effects on the country. But on many issues, he's a "paper tiger dressed in a cowardly lion’s costume," to quote Jack Shafer's assessment of Trump's all-bark-no-bite threats against the media.

On Tuesday, congressional Democrats announced they would attempt to negotiate with their Republican counterparts over a shutdown-avoiding budget deal and leave Trump out of it—a bit of posturing to be sure, but Trump would probably sign any bill that came out of Congress, just as he did in April. Cutting him out of the discussion has become a routine tactic for other DC power players—White House economic adviser Gary Cohn reportedly did just that by faking a bad connection to get Trump off the phone during a recent tax reform discussion.

If this month's election results were any guide, the 2018 midterms may signal the end of Republican domination of Congress, making Trump's dreams even harder to realize. If his power does wane even further, expect more and more heated Twitter rants. Even if he never figures out how DC operates, he obviously knows how to work his phone.