Trump is binary

In case you have not already noticed, Trump is binary.

Things are either "good" or "bad",  "green" or "red", "success" or "failure".

This characteristic is common in chief executives.  "'Yellow?'  'Yellow?'  What the heck is yellow?  Failing with honors?  Is it green or is it red?"

Problem solvers may need "variable data" and nuance to solve problems.  Chief executives only need enough data to properly motivate effective problem solvers or fire ineffective problem solvers.

Enigmas wrapped in mysteries wrapped in...
That model staggers a little bit when it runs into people like Putin.

Let me rephrase that.  That model founders when it must navigate other people's strong biases surrounding Putin and Russia.

I am not sure it fails when dealing with Putin.  I am not sure it has been tried.

Binary
Our brains function as binary computers.  A nerve either passes a synapse or it is quiet.  Yes or No.  Nuance is all well-and-good, but our brains function as high speed, interlaced, binary computers.

Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian Knot

Coupled problems are inherently difficult to solve.  Trump's extraordinary effectiveness may be due to his ability to slow down the weft-and-woof of coupled signals so issues can be dealt with in a monotonic fashion.

At the risk of sounding like a Trump fan-boy, I think we need to back off and let Trump be effective (i.e., let Trump be Trump).  It is a management truism that you can either manage for style or you can manage for performance.  Trying to manage for both is to plant one foot in the canoe while leaving the other firmly rooted to the dock.

Trump consistently gets "F" for style and "A" for performance.  He is who he is and America can change that in 2020 if they judge that to be a mistake.