NO HUMAN FEELINGS

If it weren't horrifying, it would almost be sad:

As prospects for an effective vaccination for the coronavirus have improved for the coming year, Donald Trump has grown outwardly resentful that he won’t be in the Oval Office to take the credit for it.

Vaccines are imminent, but they won't be in wide circulation until the spring, when Trump will no longer be in the White House. Some of the self-promotion Trump imagined for himself in a second term seems almost like what you'd expect from a normal president:

According to two individuals with direct knowledge of his private comments, the president had said he envisioned large, public, mask-free events—particularly when the weather grew warmer in, what he anticipated to be, a second term—and rallies to celebrate the successes of Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership to develop a vaccine. When distribution began, Trump had wanted to be directly involved in the vaccine’s promotion, gaming out a video campaign about the safety and success of his operation.

But then there's this:

Trump also mused about holding a public, televised event or news conference in which he'd proudly brandish and read from a list of headlines, articles, and TV coverage that had either underestimated him or raised doubts about Operation Warp Speed's timeline.

"The president has been looking forward to showing that he was right and the media was wrong," one of the sources described.

Just imagine that: millions of Americans getting the vaccine, slowly returning to normal life, hugging friends and family members they've been afraid to hug for a year -- but what Trump imagined, at that moment of love and joy, was vengeance. And remember, this is would have been after Trump won the election. He wouldn't have been able to let go of grievances even then.

And, of course, he'd be wrongly seeking vengeance. Critics "raised doubts about Operation Warp Speed's timeline" because Trump regularly insisted that a vaccine would be available before the election. Critics knew it wouldn't happen, and it didn't.

This is who Trump is -- but 73 million people are fine with that. They're fine with a president who looks at the heartbreak of this pandemic and sees only opportunities for ego gratification and retribution against his enemies. They either tell themselves that he really has normal human emotions or they don't care that he doesn't.