Donald Trump has spent his entire Presidency, if not his whole adult life, crafting a narrative he hopes to convince us is the “truth”.

He views it as an unforgivable offense if others offer facts that run counter to his narrative.

Above all: the narrative must be preserved.

I think about this in light of his debate performance, & his reaction to the still-unseen Lesley Stahl interview for 60 MINUTES. How much it clearly terrifies him to let anyone else pass judgment on him, tell his story, or get in the last word.

He’s like a toddler: “No. No. No!”

Now that Trump is, at least nominally, the Leader of the Free World, he feels genuinely entitled to present his narrative as fact without being challenged by anybody. It’s why he constantly complains that the MSM gangs up on him, which his acolytes are all too willing to believe.

I’ve heard Trump’s followers defend his performance in the first debate: “Biden was telling so many lies that Trump had to jump in & set the record straight!”

They just accept “shouting down all naysayers” as a perfectly reasonable response to Trump being challenged in any way.