From a gilded perch, Trump tries to retain the common touch

In his second term, Trump is looking and sounding insulated even from the voters who put him back in the White House.

WASHINGTON — Back in Donald Trump’s first term, his staff decided they’d tuck into his briefing book a few letters from ordinary Americans who’d written to the White House.

Only certain letters made the cut, though.

Aides made a point of sending Trump the flattering mail while holding back the letters panning his work, a White House official in the last term said.

“Someone quite rightly thought that if we wanted to have any chance of him reading them consistently, it would be good if they were positive and praiseworthy,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

All presidents say they want to keep in touch with typical Americans; few succeed. Everything about the job conspires against unscripted encounters that can enlighten a president about what’s truly on people’s minds.