Trump advisers vent frustrations about 2018 strategy as president listens

The following article by Josh Dawsey and Robert Costa was posted on the Washington Post website December 21, 2017:

President Trump celebrates with Vice President Pence and congressional Republicans outside the White House on Wednesday after Congress passed a sweeping tax overhaul. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Within hours of celebrating President Trump’s biggest legislative achievement, at the South Portico of the White House on Wednesday, his aides and outside advisers had a spirited, and at times tense, discussion with him about the political outlook ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

The gathering saw tempers flare as aides vented their frustrations with electoral defeats this year and concerns about the 2018 political map, according to several people with knowledge of the discussion. Complaints about the president’s political operation and the Republican National Committee boiled over, playing out in front of the president as an inner-circle drama. Continue reading “Trump advisers vent frustrations about 2018 strategy as president listens”