2012 THE first time I thought about busting loose, I was watching myself on TV being Tom and I was saying, “Whatever happened to responsibility, loyalty, obedience, reverence? Staying strong as a country, protecting ourselves?” I had been reading that off the Teleprompter. I believe in all that—I am a Scout!—but I don’t really talk like that. Then the TV showed some old guys in suits and ties sitting around a table talking. One of them said, “A child has come to lead us,” and another said, “He’s a puppet of dangerous interests,” and another said, “He’s a boy genius,” and another said, “He’s a holy fool.” I knew they were talking about me—at least, the kid they’d seen on TV, who wasn’t really me. My mind was spinning like after getting sacked hard in a football game. That was when I finally clicked off the TV and tried to think. The television was always on when I was in the hotel room, and I was in the room most of the time, watching TV and eating room-service food.
