Regardless of your political persuasion, you have probably been puzzled a time or two when former President Donald Trump has heaped praise upon the unlikeliest of recipients. From complimenting adversarial foreign leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to sitting down for interviews with dozens of corporate journalists whose sole mission was to destroy his administration, Trump has never possessed the discernment to differentiate between friend and foe.

The latest of these perplexing situations occurred on Tuesday’s episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight when the former president thought it necessary to sing the praises of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). "He was always very nice to me. He said the greatest things. He would say things like, 'Oh, he's doing a great job,'" Trump said. "That's why I could never hit him because he was so nice to me."

Newsom may have said nice things to Trump, but he has turned California into a dystopian nightmare in which needles and human feces litter the streets and millionaire tech moguls get stabbed to death . Newsom’s policies are something out of a leftist fever dream: rampant illegal immigration, sky-high taxes, and even attempting to make the state a "sanctuary" where children can receive genital mutilation surgeries .

Policy has never mattered much to the 45th president. He lashed out at his own Vice President Mike Pence for failing to use an imaginary constitutional provision that would have somehow overturned the outcome of the 2020 election, said Stacey Abrams would be a better governor than Georgia’s Brian Kemp for the same reason, and attacked Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) by praising Charlie Crist, the man DeSantis obliterated by nearly 20 points last November, presumably because Trump and his team fear a legitimate primary challenge. (Sorry, Tim Scott , you’re not that guy, pal. At least not this cycle.)

We all accept that Trump is going to be Trump. He is a man of many words, and he has no problem attacking anyone or anything that he views as disloyal. He also cannot discern good character when flattery gets in the way, and this personality flaw has real-world consequences. Perhaps if Dr. Anthony Fauci weren’t so "nice" in March 2020, the global economy would have been spared. Competent leaders may have staffed the White House instead of Anthony Scaramucci , Steve Bannon , and Omarosa if "The Donald" weren’t so easily influenced by flattery. Bob Woodward was able to gain access to the former president for countless hours to write a brutal hit piece on the Trump administration. Why? Who knows! Woodward probably complimented Trump’s midrange game.

In the 2022 midterm elections, Trump repeatedly undermined candidates who could have won swing state senatorial and congressional races in favor of candidates who obsessed over the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Any sober-minded observer could tell you that Herschel Walker would have an uphill battle in a general election or that Kari Lake should have toned down the MAGA in the land of John McCain. But despite never consuming a drop of alcohol, Trump is anything but sober, and the people are paying the price for his lack of judgment.

Brady Leonard ( @bradyleonard ) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast .