Tag: Trump White House

Want to Know More About: The New York Times Anonymous Op-Ed

Susan Glasser: “My Guess Is That The Good Professionals Over At The CIA, In Our Intelligence Community And FBI Who Are Used To Wielding The Polygraph Machine  Might Advise The President Against Using It On His Own Staff.” SUSAN GLASSER: “My guess is that the good professionals over at the CIA, in our intelligence community and FBI who are used to wielding the polygraph machine  might advise the president against using it on his own staff. If you are already paranoid and written by conspiracy theories, its not going to make you feel any better, that you don’t know who you can trust.”  [New Day, CNN, 9/7/18; Video]

Susan Glasser: “It Is Also Not Going To Make You Feel Any Better To Put Polygraph Tests In Front Of Your Aides And Have Some Of Them Fail. Who Is Donald Trump Going To Hire To Replace The Team He Has Around Him. The Turnover Is Already At Historic Unprecedented Mind Blowing Levels.” SUSAN GLASSER: “It is also not going to make you feel any better to put polygraph tests in front of your aides and have some of them fail. Who is Donald Trump going to hire to replace the team he has around him. The turnover is already at historic unprecedented mind blowing levels. I saw new numbers yesterday from Martha Kumar, 61% of the senior officials in the White House that have come and gone in this White House. Trump doesn’t have a lot of options left except to be alone and wonder who else he can trust.” [New Day, CNN, 9/7/18; Video]

‘It’s open season on the president’: Op-ed unleashes West Wing meltdown

The following article by Andrew Restuccia, Eliana Johnson, Christopher Cadelago and Annie Karni was posted on the Politico.com website September 5, 2018:

The New York Times op-ed came as the president was already struggling with fallout from Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book.

The hunt for the mole began as soon as The New York Times published an anonymous op-ed by a senior Trump administration official declaring that many in the government are working to thwart the president they serve.

One senior administration official described a White House in “total meltdown” by Wednesday evening, after the president went on television to directly attack the author and the Times, an assessment corroborated in interviews with more than a dozen current and former White House officials and outside advisers.

The op-ed, whose author described top aides working to restrain a reckless and amoral president and Cabinet officials considering constitutional measures to remove Trump from office, landed a day after excerpts from Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book “Fear” quoted senior aides dismissing the president’s capacity for office — and on the heels of Trump’s exile from official Washington during the weekend’s funeral services for onetime Republican standard-bearer John McCain.

View the complete article here.

‘The sleeper cells have awoken’: Trump and aides shaken by ‘resistance’ op-ed

The following article by Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website September 5, 2018:

An anonymous Trump official wrote a column published by the New York Times on Sept. 5, describing how senior officials are working to protect the nation. (Reuters)

President Trump and his aides reacted with indignation Wednesday to an unsigned opinion column from a senior official blasting the president’s “amorality” and launched a frantic hunt for the author, who claims to be part of a secret “resistance” inside the government protecting the nation from its commander in chief.

The extraordinary column, published anonymously in the New York Times, surfaced one day after the first excerpts emerged from Bob Woodward’s new book, in which Trump’s top advisers painted a devastating portrait of the president and described a “crazytown” atmosphere inside the White House.

Taken together, they landed like a thunder clap, portraying Trump as a danger to the country that elected him and feeding the president’s paranoia about whom around him he can trust.

View the complete article here.

Trump blasts “gutless” staffer who criticized him in NYT op-ed

The following article by Alayna Treene was posted on the Axios.com website September 5, 2018:

President Trump responded to the anonymous op-ed written by a senior Trump administration official and published in the New York Times on Wednesday during his meeting with sheriffs from across the country.

“Anonymous. Can you believe it? Anonymous. Meaning gutless. A gutless editorial.”
— President Trump, while holding out a printed, and highlighted, copy of the op-ed.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also called on the “gutless anonymous source” to resign, and said the administration isn’t surprised that the Time chose “to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed,” calling it “a new low.”

View the post here.

The two most overlooked, inexplicable stories from Bob Woodward’s Trump book

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website September 5, 2018:

President Trump reacted on Sept. 5 to Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” saying the journalist “likes to get publicity.” (TWP)

President Trump’s denials of the stories in Bob Woodward’s new book on Wednesday turned to tacit admission: Trump may be an unwieldy boss, he seemed to admit, but that’s part of why Americans elected him.

“I’m tough as hell on people & if I weren’t, nothing would get done,” Trump tweeted. “Also, I question everybody & everything-which is why I got elected!”

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Almost everyone agrees that my Administration has done more in less than two years than any other Administration in the history of our Country. I’m tough as hell on people & if I weren’t, nothing would get done. Also, I question everybody & everything-which is why I got elected!

Twitter Ads info and privacy

It’s an interesting spin. But Trump’s defense here doesn’t actually line up with what we know about Woodward’s book. Woodward doesn’t just paint Trump as a president who ruffles feathers, you see, but also as a man who struggles with very basic facts about very important matters — including on things about which he should definitely know better.

View the complete article here.

Want to Know More About: The New York Times Anonymous Opinion Editorial

Major Garrett: “The Piece Which Drew Withering White House Criticism Goes On To Say The Truth Is It’s The President’s Amorality. His Leadership Style Was Impetuous, Petty, And Ineffective.” GARRETT: “The Op-Ed said the author and others are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. The piece which drew withering white house criticism goes on to say the truth is it’s the president’s amorality. His leadership style was impetuous, petty, and ineffective.” [This Morning, CBS, 9/6/18; VIDEO]

Maggie Haberman: “The Sentiment Expressed In This Op-Ed Is Consistent With What We Heard From Our Own Sources Over The Last Two Years Now. And Frankly What We Heard From Some People In The Campaign Before That And In The Transition About What The President Understood About The Job And His Preparedness And Fitness For The Job.” HABERMAN: “What I know is that the sentiment expressed in this op-ed is consistent with what we heard from our own sources over the last two years now. And frankly what we heard from some people in the campaign before that and in the transition about what was the president understood about the job and his preparedness and fitness for the job. You’re seeing between this and the Woodward book in a way that we have not before.” [New Day, CNN, 9/6/18; VIDEO]

Maggie Haberman: “It Can’t All Be Made Up.” HABERMAN: “I think about how the white house is going to respond to Woodward book, including explosive new accounts that match the tone and tenor of what we have all been reporting for two years and the president has the same statement in that case. It can’t all be made up, and I think that decisions cannot be made based on how the white house might react. He was furious when he saw it.” [New Day, CNN, 9/6/18; VIDEO] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: The New York Times Anonymous Opinion Editorial”

Transcript: Phone call between President Trump and journalist Bob Woodward

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website September 4, 2018:

President Trump and Bob Woodward discuss Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” before its publication. (The Washington Post)

Bob Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, sought an interview with President Trump as he was writing “Fear,” a book about Trump’s presidency. Trump called Woodward in early August, after the manuscript had been completed, to say he wanted to participate.

Over the course of 11-plus minutes, Trump repeatedly claimed his White House staff hadn’t informed him of Woodward’s interview request — despite also admitting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had told him Woodward wanted to talk. He also started the phone call by saying Woodward had “always been fair” to him, but by the end he said the book would be “inaccurate.”

This is a transcript of that call, with key sections highlighted and annotated. To see an annotation, click on the yellow, highlighted text.

View the complete article here.

You’re Hired! You’re Fired! Yes, the Turnover at the Top of the Trump Administration Is … “Unprecedented.”

The following article by Denise Lu and Karen Yourish was posted on the New York Times website August 29, 2018:

President Trump’s staff churn continued on Wednesday with Mr. Trump’s announcement on Twitter that the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, will leave the administration this fall.

Some roles have been more volatile than others. For example, there have been four White House communications directors, with stints ranging from less than a week (Anthony Scaramucci) to more than six months (Hope Hicks). Sean Spicer, while serving as press secretary, filled the position twice — once in an acting capacity after Michael Dubke resigned.

The flurry of changes at the White House and cabinet level so early in a president’s administration is “unprecedented,” according to Max Stier, the president and chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization that specializes in federal government management issues.

View the complete article here.

Want to Know More About: White House Counsel Don McGahn?

Errol Louis: “McGahn’s Influence Has Really Been On The Central Core Conservative Republican Objectives. Getting Lots Of Conservative Judges Through The Process, And Dealing With Deregulation.” ERROL LOUIS: “I think what the leader McConnell is referring to is that McGahn ‘s influence has really been on the central core conservative Republican objectives. Getting lots of conservative judges through the process, and dealing with deregulation.  McGahn himself has said that he wants deregulation to be a big part of his legacy if and when he does leave.” [New Day, CNN, 8/30/18; Video]

Adriana Diaz: “Another Senior Trump Administration Official, White House Counsel Don McGahn Will Soon Be Leaving. The Announcement Came Less Than Two Weeks After The News McGahn Met With Special Counsel Robert Mueller Three Times.” ADRIANA DIAZ: “Another senior trump administration official, white house counsel Don McGahn will soon be leaving. The announcement came less than two weeks after the news McGahn met with special counsel Robert Mueller three times. But sources say McGahn had talked about resigning for months. President trump said he’ll leave after the senate confirmation for supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The president called McGahn a really good guy.” [CBS This Morning, CBS, 8/30/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: White House Counsel Don McGahn?”

Trump’s brain drain

The following article by Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and Daniel Lippman was posted on the Politico website August 30, 2018:

White House counsel Donald McGahn Credit: Andrew Harnik, AP

TRUMP’S EMPTYING WHITE HOUSE … DON MCGAHN is leaving. The Washington Post reported last night: “Three of McGahn’s deputies — Greg Katsas, Uttam Dhillon and Makan Delrahim — have departed, and a fourth, Stefan Passantino, will have his last day Friday. That leaves John Eisenberg, who handles national security, as the lone deputy counsel.” WaPo (By the way, why couldn’t Passantino hold on a few more months until he could say he’s leaving after the midterms?)

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS — the marquee name in the president’s White House press shop — doesn’t seem to be far behind, according to reports. And it’s widely believed that JOHN KELLY could also head for the exits at some point, despite saying he will remain in the post through 2020. Not to mention a number of lower-level staffers who have already left the administration. Turnover, of course, is a natural part of any White House. These jobs are high-stress and require grueling hours.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT HERE is that unlike previous administrations, there isn’t an army of political operatives and top aides vying to replace the troops. Scores of top HOUSE REPUBLICAN aides are going to be looking for jobs soon, and we’ve only heard of a handful that are even willing to consider an administration job.

View the complete article here.