What do you think?
Rate this book
The Toddler in Chief: What Donald Trump Teaches Us about the Modern Presidency
“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. . . . And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”—An anonymous senior administrative official in an op-ed published in a New York Times op-ed, September 5, 2018
Every president faces criticism and caricature. Donald Trump, however, is unique in that he is routinely characterized in ways more suitable for a toddler. What’s more, it is not just Democrats, pundits, or protestors who compare the president to a child; Trump’s staffers, subordinates, and allies on Capitol Hill also describe Trump like a small, badly behaved preschooler.
In April 2017, Daniel W. Drezner began curating every example he could find of a Trump ally describing the president like a toddler. So far, he’s collected more than one thousand tweets—a rate of more than one a day. In The Toddler-in-Chief, Drezner draws on these examples to take readers through the different dimensions of Trump’s infantile behavior, from temper tantrums to poor impulse control to the possibility that the President has had too much screen time. How much damage can really be done by a giant man-baby? Quite a lot, Drezner argues, due to the winnowing away of presidential checks and balances over the past fifty years. In these pages, Drezner follows his theme—the specific ways in which sharing some of the traits of a toddler makes a person ill-suited to the presidency—to show the lasting, deleterious impact the Trump administration will have on American foreign policy and democracy.
The “adults in the room” may not be able to rein in Trump’s toddler-like behavior, but, with the 2020 election fast approaching, the American people can think about whether they want the most powerful office turned into a poorly run political day care facility. Drezner exhorts us to elect a commander-in-chief, not a toddler-in-chief. And along the way, he shows how we must rethink the terrifying powers we have given the presidency.
Every president faces criticism and caricature. Donald Trump, however, is unique in that he is routinely characterized in ways more suitable for a toddler. What’s more, it is not just Democrats, pundits, or protestors who compare the president to a child; Trump’s staffers, subordinates, and allies on Capitol Hill also describe Trump like a small, badly behaved preschooler.
In April 2017, Daniel W. Drezner began curating every example he could find of a Trump ally describing the president like a toddler. So far, he’s collected more than one thousand tweets—a rate of more than one a day. In The Toddler-in-Chief, Drezner draws on these examples to take readers through the different dimensions of Trump’s infantile behavior, from temper tantrums to poor impulse control to the possibility that the President has had too much screen time. How much damage can really be done by a giant man-baby? Quite a lot, Drezner argues, due to the winnowing away of presidential checks and balances over the past fifty years. In these pages, Drezner follows his theme—the specific ways in which sharing some of the traits of a toddler makes a person ill-suited to the presidency—to show the lasting, deleterious impact the Trump administration will have on American foreign policy and democracy.
The “adults in the room” may not be able to rein in Trump’s toddler-like behavior, but, with the 2020 election fast approaching, the American people can think about whether they want the most powerful office turned into a poorly run political day care facility. Drezner exhorts us to elect a commander-in-chief, not a toddler-in-chief. And along the way, he shows how we must rethink the terrifying powers we have given the presidency.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 2020
231 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
April 2, 2020
Picked up a copy believing it to be satirical.
It turned out to be alarmingly biographical.
It turned out to be alarmingly biographical.
Read
May 18, 2021I read this book because the author is a famous political science professor, and I was looking forward to maybe an overarching theory-driven exploration of Trump's psyche. I think in this book the author wears his role as a pundit rather than as an academic, but this book is still pretty stellar. He shows how textbook psychological analyses of toddler behavior mirror Trump's paroxysms and puzzlingly infantile-seeming actions. There's a lot of clips of various newspaper articles heavily featured in the book as supporting evidence. Rather fast-paced, hilarious but alarming read. There must be something strange about this man that the top lieutenants of his political party could despise his intelligence and emotional maturity and grasp of presidential affairs so completely, yet swear fealty to him and his interests so strongly.
May 10, 2020
Pretty much what the title says. The hook here is that the author takes openings from chapters in a how to book written by doctors for taking care of infants and toddlers. The advice is about what a toddler can tolerate or can do and can't do. He then applies the advice to descriptiions of the 45th "President," often in quotes from former staff. It's all very applicable and it's all very depressing (and dangerous). 45 is so obviously a fraud (literally and figurativel), has such a history of acting like a moron and worse, and he's doing it all again in public, as usual.
Like all the other books about this abomination, the bottom line is that 45 is who he is, will never change, can't ever change, won't read or be considerate, and we are stuck with him and his minions of fools and idiots at least until 2021. Shame on us for allowing this total fool who cares only for himself to capture what used to be the Presidency. Enough.
Like all the other books about this abomination, the bottom line is that 45 is who he is, will never change, can't ever change, won't read or be considerate, and we are stuck with him and his minions of fools and idiots at least until 2021. Shame on us for allowing this total fool who cares only for himself to capture what used to be the Presidency. Enough.
March 8, 2021
When I picked up this book, I expected to understand what happened, why, and how Trump's presidency was all over the place. I don't feel I came away satisfied.
To break this down, there is comparing Trump to a toddler, which is an insult to toddlers the world over as I've raised better-behaved children. But this is done with great comparisons and detail. I see it. Then there are the quotes that are just transposed from cable television to here. Those who watch the news will find this repetitive, others will either be intrigued or confused as some quotes are chopped up. And finally, the conclusion, where Drezner attempts to cover himself by reiterating everything he wrote previous and explaining his justification so he doesn't sound mean. In other words, he's afraid to own it.
The beginning is interesting. The quotes help. The insight into the White House is the most interesting, seeing who's getting fired and who's brown-nosing and how the staff really feels. How much is real and how much is Drezner just assuming? Not sure.
Not the best book. Not the worst.
To break this down, there is comparing Trump to a toddler, which is an insult to toddlers the world over as I've raised better-behaved children. But this is done with great comparisons and detail. I see it. Then there are the quotes that are just transposed from cable television to here. Those who watch the news will find this repetitive, others will either be intrigued or confused as some quotes are chopped up. And finally, the conclusion, where Drezner attempts to cover himself by reiterating everything he wrote previous and explaining his justification so he doesn't sound mean. In other words, he's afraid to own it.
The beginning is interesting. The quotes help. The insight into the White House is the most interesting, seeing who's getting fired and who's brown-nosing and how the staff really feels. How much is real and how much is Drezner just assuming? Not sure.
Not the best book. Not the worst.
May 13, 2020
This was an amazing read. Perhaps of all the books I've read on Donald Trump, "The Toddler-in-Chief" best describes his dysfunctional personality and insecurities. The concept of pairing child development with the daily antics with Trump's character is a creative, and quite frankly, authentic way of understanding his dysfunction. Drezner is correct in stating that it is almost insulting to toddlers to compare their formation with that of Trump's; a seventy-seven year old man with less discipline than a child seventy years younger. Like other texts written about Trump, the primary audience should be those of us who understand his dysfunction, but rather his forty percent base. It makes you wonder if they share the same lag in personal development as their leader.
Read
April 16, 2020I'm not sure enjoyed is the right verb to use for it given the subject and current times, so I will simply say it was well done. Intentionally no rating as it is pointless to believe anyone's view on the book will reflect their view of the actual book versus its subject.
April 13, 2020
The book is a pastiche of comments by others, all leading to the conclusion that Mr. Trump exhibits the emotional and mental maturity of a two-year old brat. All this was written before the Covid-19 disaster, the very sort of thing Drezner feared might happen on the Toddler-in-Chief’s watch. With the exception of a typo or two (it’s the “Administrative Procedure Act” - not “Procedures”) the book is a breezy and pleasant read.
April 24, 2020
Perhaps the idea of the book sounded promising but the execution of it fell woefully short of any serious analysis of the current President. The writer strings together the many tweets of Trump and the many comments of those close to him. But he breaks no new ground, brings no insight, tends to wander around, and tries, quite unsuccessfully in the last chapter, to tie his anecdotes into some relevant themes. All in all a waste of time.
March 19, 2021
Ironically, a book that highlights the short attention span of Trump is perfectly formatted for readers with short attention spans, with brief vignettes and news story quotes reflecting the child-like characteristics of our former president. The book is funny and enlightening, though in the end his childishness led to horror that even Drezner probably wouldn't have imagined
June 18, 2020
A collection of quotes from newspapers, magazines and books with additional commentary. I didn’t feel it was worth the time or money spent. Additionally, it provided no new information. Very disappointing.
May 6, 2020
Derivative, repetitive, superficial. A missed opportunity.
October 1, 2020
This is a fascinating investigation into an explanation of President Trump's behaviors. It helped me understand a lot.
June 5, 2021
I wanted to enjoy this but it was just annoying. The cover alone was worth the purchase, but it just wasn't fun like I thought it would be.
June 20, 2024
Dang! This change in thinking really explains those 4 years under this man-child.
December 22, 2020
I was looking for books on how to manage toddlers when this book came up. The concept for this book began when the author started collecting instances in the news of when Trump was compared to a toddler. He then curated the hashtag #toddlerinchief on Twitter. He uses descriptions of toddler behavior from the American Academy of Pediatric's book Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 to illustrate how much of Trump's behavior is the same. He discusses:
Poor impulse control
Fits of temper
Short attention span
Oppositional behavior
Lack of knowledge
Too much screen time
Picky eating
No interest in culture/history
Bullying behavior
Burnout of caretakers
The author pulls quotes from news sources such as Politico, The NY Times, and the Washington Post that illustrate Trump's childish behavior in each of these categories. Much of this is not a surprise to anyone who has been paying a little bit of attention. But many of the details are appalling, such as how the aids and others have accommodated and manipulated Trump by dumbing his daily briefings down to bullet points and pictures, only showing him positive press reviews of himself so that he stays in a good mood, and strategically placing people on TV to influence Trump's political views. Hopefully the American people have learned a lesson and are now paying attention. The good news is that I was able to get Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 from my library so I can learn how to manage my own toddler.
Poor impulse control
Fits of temper
Short attention span
Oppositional behavior
Lack of knowledge
Too much screen time
Picky eating
No interest in culture/history
Bullying behavior
Burnout of caretakers
The author pulls quotes from news sources such as Politico, The NY Times, and the Washington Post that illustrate Trump's childish behavior in each of these categories. Much of this is not a surprise to anyone who has been paying a little bit of attention. But many of the details are appalling, such as how the aids and others have accommodated and manipulated Trump by dumbing his daily briefings down to bullet points and pictures, only showing him positive press reviews of himself so that he stays in a good mood, and strategically placing people on TV to influence Trump's political views. Hopefully the American people have learned a lesson and are now paying attention. The good news is that I was able to get Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 from my library so I can learn how to manage my own toddler.
March 16, 2024
It's easy to forget how weird the Trump years were (and maybe will be again), but also how exhausting they were. The central thesis of this book is that Trump has the psychology of a difficult to manage toddler. From temper tantrums, impulsiveness and obstinacy to a love of screentime and a habit of asking wide-eyed questions about spaceships, Drezner does a good job of finding anecdotes about Trump that match eerily well to advice for the parents of very small children.
The problem is that... that's really all there is to the book. Each chapter opens with a little toddler psychology and then intersperses paragraphs from news articles with bits of commentary. Anyone who was vaguely online on 2016-19 will be familiar with almost all the examples given (the only one that was really new to me was the story of Trump ruining a reception for Vietnam vets by getting distracted and spending all his time arguing that Agent Orange was actually napalm, which made me cringe into the ground).
Drezner is a professor of international politics, but the actual academic content of the book - an explanation of the ways the power of the executive have become dangerously strong and the guardrails on the presidency weakened - is dealt with in a few pages. The book needed more of that meat and less recounting of Trump's TV watching habits.
Anyway, I'll leave you with an interesting quote from 2019:
"Based on Trump's behavior as cataloged in this book, the idea of Trump coping with a true crisis–a terrorist attack, *a global pandemic*, a great power clash with China–is truly frightening."
Sad trombone sound.
The problem is that... that's really all there is to the book. Each chapter opens with a little toddler psychology and then intersperses paragraphs from news articles with bits of commentary. Anyone who was vaguely online on 2016-19 will be familiar with almost all the examples given (the only one that was really new to me was the story of Trump ruining a reception for Vietnam vets by getting distracted and spending all his time arguing that Agent Orange was actually napalm, which made me cringe into the ground).
Drezner is a professor of international politics, but the actual academic content of the book - an explanation of the ways the power of the executive have become dangerously strong and the guardrails on the presidency weakened - is dealt with in a few pages. The book needed more of that meat and less recounting of Trump's TV watching habits.
Anyway, I'll leave you with an interesting quote from 2019:
"Based on Trump's behavior as cataloged in this book, the idea of Trump coping with a true crisis–a terrorist attack, *a global pandemic*, a great power clash with China–is truly frightening."
Sad trombone sound.
November 12, 2024
This book had a lot of interesting factoids about Trump and I do think it makes an interesting case about his psychology. I definitely learnt a lot more about the inner workings of the Trump administration from this book.
However, and I must preface this by saying that I'm a leftist and I hate Trump's guts, I did feel that some of the criticism in this book was unfair. There were moments where the "criticism" was so petty that I finally felt like I could understand why so many right wingers characterize liberals as self-righteous snobs. I think part of this was due to the tone of the audiobook narrator, which I perceived to be somewhat smug, but one moment that really stuck out to me was the mention of an incident where Trump got into a fire engine that visited the whitehouse and said "show me the fire, I'll put it out real fast." This incident was pointed out as an example of his immaturity which I think is, to be blunt, stupid. If Obama had done that people would have called it charming and funny, (and they'd be right to.) Similarly, I don't care if Trump likes to drink diet coke.
In conclusion, this book is at its best when it's critiquing the (numerous) instances of Trump being legitimately dangerous in his callousness and impulsivity, but it's at its worst when it's being prissy because the fascist enjoys his steak well done.
However, and I must preface this by saying that I'm a leftist and I hate Trump's guts, I did feel that some of the criticism in this book was unfair. There were moments where the "criticism" was so petty that I finally felt like I could understand why so many right wingers characterize liberals as self-righteous snobs. I think part of this was due to the tone of the audiobook narrator, which I perceived to be somewhat smug, but one moment that really stuck out to me was the mention of an incident where Trump got into a fire engine that visited the whitehouse and said "show me the fire, I'll put it out real fast." This incident was pointed out as an example of his immaturity which I think is, to be blunt, stupid. If Obama had done that people would have called it charming and funny, (and they'd be right to.) Similarly, I don't care if Trump likes to drink diet coke.
In conclusion, this book is at its best when it's critiquing the (numerous) instances of Trump being legitimately dangerous in his callousness and impulsivity, but it's at its worst when it's being prissy because the fascist enjoys his steak well done.
April 28, 2020
I guess I'd give it more like 3½ stars. Though, as other reviewers have noted, there's not a lot of new ground broken here as the book is largely commentary amidst quotes from articles and such by journalists from both sides of the ideological spectrum. But the premise of the book I found both disturbing and amusing : using a study of developmental psychology as its basis (and to provide an epigraph for each chapter)--American Academy of Pediatrics, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child--Drezner convincingly demonstrates--like coals to Newcastle--that "there is an abundance of evidence that Donald Trump, the 45th POTUS, has the emotional and intellectual range of a misbehaving toddler... Across a range of behavioral and cognitive traits--temper tantrums, attention span, impulse control, oppositional behavior, and knowledge deficits--Trump has much more in common with small children than with the 43 men who preceded him." Further amused that some critics have argued this premise is actually insulting to toddlers.
June 20, 2025
Solid appraisal of pre-pandemic Trump
Drezner's book, built around quotes primarily from Trump staffers and supporters accumulated 2017-19 in a Twitter account established for the purpose, supports the thesis stated in the title with events from that time period. He also quotes books and articles on child psychology to underline the validity of his comparison. The book was written in anticipation of the 2020 election, with no knowledge of the looming pandemic, although near the end of the book, the author points out that, fortunately, the administration had faced no major crisis, and global pandemic was among the examples offered. Reading the book in 2025 has indeed been interesting, to say the least.
Drezner's book, built around quotes primarily from Trump staffers and supporters accumulated 2017-19 in a Twitter account established for the purpose, supports the thesis stated in the title with events from that time period. He also quotes books and articles on child psychology to underline the validity of his comparison. The book was written in anticipation of the 2020 election, with no knowledge of the looming pandemic, although near the end of the book, the author points out that, fortunately, the administration had faced no major crisis, and global pandemic was among the examples offered. Reading the book in 2025 has indeed been interesting, to say the least.
August 4, 2020
Written Pre Corona Virus
This book provides an articulate analysis of a president Donald Trump, " The Toddler in Chief! " It gives evidence of Trump's immaturity as a man, let alone a president. With quotations from hundreds of professional journalists, statesmen, White House staff , former associates , and political allies as well as foes, Daniel Drezner makes a strong argument about the immaturity and toddler-like behavior of a man in dangerous control of a nation's standing. If you agree with Trumo's behavior, read this to bolster your opiniins. But if you, like many Americans, fear for the safety of our nation , read this and share !
This book provides an articulate analysis of a president Donald Trump, " The Toddler in Chief! " It gives evidence of Trump's immaturity as a man, let alone a president. With quotations from hundreds of professional journalists, statesmen, White House staff , former associates , and political allies as well as foes, Daniel Drezner makes a strong argument about the immaturity and toddler-like behavior of a man in dangerous control of a nation's standing. If you agree with Trumo's behavior, read this to bolster your opiniins. But if you, like many Americans, fear for the safety of our nation , read this and share !
August 31, 2020
It's crazy that a book with this title even exists. If the situation America is in weren't so fucking scary and real this might even be funny. IT ISN'T!
"The “adults in the room” may not be able to rein in Trump’s toddler-like behavior, but, with the 2020 election fast approaching, the American people can think about whether they want the most powerful office turned into a poorly run political day care facility. Drezner exhorts us to elect a commander-in-chief, not a toddler-in-chief. And along the way, he shows how we must rethink the terrifying powers we have given the presidency." (excerpt from description of the book)
"The “adults in the room” may not be able to rein in Trump’s toddler-like behavior, but, with the 2020 election fast approaching, the American people can think about whether they want the most powerful office turned into a poorly run political day care facility. Drezner exhorts us to elect a commander-in-chief, not a toddler-in-chief. And along the way, he shows how we must rethink the terrifying powers we have given the presidency." (excerpt from description of the book)
April 28, 2020
Nothing exciting here. The only thing "new" is the integration of quotes from childcare books with quotes from secondary sources which, for the most part, fail to disclose their primary sources; most of the quotes come from the Washington Post or Politico. A quick read confirming, but not necessarily validating, what you get in the paper and online. This is not to say that the implications of the book are wrong or right. Just that the book does not fall into the category of "journalism" as it should be practiced.
June 27, 2020
A close comparison of President Trump's behavior with that of a toddler. Not surprisingly, the similarities abound. This book came out at the beginning of 2020, at a time when the covid crisis had not struck. One of the author's points is that despite his lack of competence in every way, President Trump had not been tested by a true crisis, words that seem hollow today.
August 27, 2020
A tongue-in-cheek look at Trump and the American Presidency, in which the author argues that Trump's behavior more closely resembles a toddler than a statesman. He uses a long list of examples of Trump's behavior to make his arguments, while offering suggestions from childcare studies. Although a serious (?) piece of scholarship, it has a number of laugh out loud moments.
February 20, 2024
Written in 2019, this book was an interesting read as it speaks from the perspective of Trump as an active president. In depth exploration the similarities of toddler development and Trump’s behavior while in office, using real-life, verified examples. Something to consider as we see Trump pursue the presidency again.
October 12, 2020
The Washington Post's superb book critic Carlos Lozada called books of this genre "more clever than useful."* To his credit, Drezner is forthright that it was never intended to be anything more.
*https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc...
*https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc...
November 23, 2020
Typical
Typical of a Trump book. All the books I have read about Trump is he’s an idiot, this book is no different. All publications lead to a problem that needs to be dealt with — Rid ourself of the Toddler in Chief. America will not be sustainable with this fool!
Typical of a Trump book. All the books I have read about Trump is he’s an idiot, this book is no different. All publications lead to a problem that needs to be dealt with — Rid ourself of the Toddler in Chief. America will not be sustainable with this fool!
January 15, 2021
For anyone wanting proof that Trump is childish, Drezner provides it in abundance.
Sadly this doesn't diminish the harm he was capable of doing.
Methodologically this can be a repetitive read since it largely analyzes the many times Trump's words and deeds conform to toddler norms.
Sadly this doesn't diminish the harm he was capable of doing.
Methodologically this can be a repetitive read since it largely analyzes the many times Trump's words and deeds conform to toddler norms.
May 3, 2020
The author presents a good case against Donald Trump as being unfit for office because he never grew up from Age Two. It is scarry! Americans are frightened. Lets hope we make it through this time.
June 13, 2020
It took me forever to read this book cause it was so depressing to read. It’s very detailed and factual based. Sadly the people that need to read this book won’t be reading it. :/
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews