That’s Trump from his younger, sprier days, when his only job requirement was to peddle his predictable brand of buffoonery to the spectacle-loving masses. Trump tends to confuse attention with adoration, and his appearance on WrestleMania XXIII in 2007 represents a simpler, better time for the now-addled old man who can’t understand why everyone is just so mean to him. Look at him. Happy as a pig in slop.

I bet he got a good chuckle out of that video, which means he posted it immediately and without thinking, just like he does everything. Trump has yet to grasp that being president means reining in the urge to joke about violence, which is odd considering how (rightfully) seriously he takes comments about his own demise.

But the reason he fails to connect this seemingly obvious hypocrisy is simple: It’s because he is stupid. It’s possible he is suffering from dementia, but it’s more likely that his brain is simply deteriorating with age, a wearing away of the politesse that society generally demands of younger people to reveal what’s really at his core: A deeply selfish, deeply spoiled man whose natural lack of empathy allowed him rapacious success built on the backs of others. Trump became who he is by lying, cheating and swindling, calling those tactics “smart business.” That he doesn’t understand why the tweet is Bad should not be surprising.

Trump’s homeland security adviser, Thomas Bossert, defended the video after seeing it during an interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC News. His mouth visibly tightens as he watches the video, but like so many Trump affiliates, misses not a beat before lavishing the Baby President with absurd praise. There must be a liberating sense of disassociation that comes with this job; knowing that what you say isn’t bound by the cumbersome obligation to make any sense whatsoever.

“I’m pretty proud of the president for developing a Twitter and a social media platform where he can talk directly to the American people,” he said, somehow maintaining a straight face. Raddatz, stifling a scream, reminds Bossert that he’s in charge of homeland security. “That seems like a threat,” she says.

“Yeah, certainly not though, I think that no one would perceive that as a threat. I hope they don’t,” he says dreamily, his dead fish eyes staring straight ahead. “He’s a genuine president expressing himself genuinely.

The video, reportedly taken from a week-old video on Reddit posted by a user named “HanAssholeSolo,” features the CNN logo superimposed over the face of Trump ally and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who the then-60-year-old Trump slams to the ground.

In a statement, CNN wrote:

“It is a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters.

“Instead of preparing for his overseas trip, his first meeting with Vladimir Putin, dealing with North Korea and working on his health care bill, he is involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his.”

He won’t, though. Not when not doing his job is so much better for ratings.