Performance skills can get a person a long way in politics — in Trump’s case, all the way to the White House. But while they can get someone into the Oval Office, they’re of limited use when it comes to actually governing, which is why the administration has been so chaotic, and why the President has failed to achieve so many of his goals. For Trump, dramatic announcements matter more than lasting achievements.

US President Donald Trump speaks from the Oval Office of the White House. Credit:Bloomberg

Trump understands from his many years in reality television that drama is enhanced by surprise, which is why so many of his announcements come without the preparation necessary to make them work. The Muslim ban is the most striking example of this: with no advance warning to Republican Party leaders, travellers, or even officials at points of entry, the sudden ban on entry threw the nation into chaos, ensuring maximal pain and disruption with minimal chance of producing functioning policy.

But the more typical result is a dramatic announcement followed by … nothing. The Republicans gathered for a massive victory celebration when healthcare repeal passed the House. It was a fantastic photo op, but shortly after the Senate failed to pass repeal and the law stayed in place. Or consider Trump’s startling announcement that he was ending NAFTA, the free-trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada. It’s true that NAFTA is no more, but it was simply tinkered with then rebranded as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Same old trade deal, just harder to say.

The government shutdown highlights all the worst aspects of this style of governing. After members of Congress hammered out an agreement to keep the government open, Trump suddenly announced he wanted billions more for a border wall, scuttling the carefully negotiated deal. He tried to gain the upper hand by forcing Pelosi and Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Shumer to negotiate with him in front of the press; the only real result was that Trump stumbled into owning the shutdown by announcing that “he would take the mantle” and promising the Democratic leadership duo, “I’m not going to blame you for it.” (He immediately blamed them for it.)