Is Donald Trump even working anymore? According to one columnist, no. In a scathing op-ed for the New York Times, Jamelle Bouie compiled the mounting evidence that a shadow government of advisors is running the show while Trump becomes increasingly isolated and disengaged. Related Analyst sums up horrendous Trump approval ratings: Negative, negative,negative, negative Ask Donald Trump about the goings on of his administration, and there is a good chance hell defer to a deputy rather than answer the question, Bouie wrote. Ask Trump for insight into why his administration made a choice or to explain a particular decision, and hell be at a loss for words. Ask him to comment on a scandal? Hell plead ignorance. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Bouie said none of that alone is enough evidence to confirm Trump is shirking his duties, but then he pointed out theres more.He isby most accountsisolated from the outside world, Bouie said. He does not travel the country and rarely meets with ordinary Americans outside the White House. He is shuttled from one Trump resort to another to play golf and hold court with donors, supporters, and hangers-on.He described the president as a ubiquitous cultural presence who gives no outward sign that he is an active participant in running the national government, harking back to his being practically AWOL during the recent shutdown and mostly absent during discussions of the One Big Beautiful Bill.Trump, Bouie said, is uninterested in anyone except his most devoted fans, and would rather collect gifts from foreign businessmen than take the reins of his administration. He posited that Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought is the de facto shadow president for domestic affairs and Stephen Miller plays that role for internal security. Foreign policy-wise, Bouie said Trump has handed the reins to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.He pointed out the irony that the unitary executive theory has fueled the Supreme Courts continued expansion of executive power to the administration. This concentration of power, he wrote, is being done on behalf of a president who is mostly missing from the business of government.The unitary executive lacks an executive. And the president we have isnt unitary. He has given his newfound power away to a small set of virtually unaccountable advisers, insulated from public outcry and indifferent to public opinion.This situation, he explained, has made the administration more unaccountable than ever.The embrace of the unitary executive theory by both the president and the court has given us the worst of all worlds, he concluded, an ultrapowerful presidency without an actual president at the helm. A figurehead whose viziers exercise unitary authority on his behalf, running roughshod over both the law and common decency in pursuit of their own narrow agendas.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.