Tag: Trump White House

The White House won’t admit that Trump gets ideas from Fox News

The following article by Callum Borchers was posted on the Washington Post website April 4, 2018:

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is asked if a Fox News report influenced President Trump’s decision to send the National Guard to the border. (Reuters)

Fox News’s influence on President Trump, from his tweets to his hires, is obvious. But the White House won’t admit that the most powerful man in the world gets ideas from a TV channel.

At a media briefing Wednesday, ABC’s Cecilia Vega noted Trump’s sudden “sense of urgency about sending the National Guard to the border” and asked, “Does this have anything to do with a report that the president saw on Fox News?” Continue reading “The White House won’t admit that Trump gets ideas from Fox News”

Pruitt and allies launch campaign to save his job

The following article by Emily Holden, Alex Guillén and Andrew Restuccia was posted on the Politico website April 4, 2018:

But the White House says it’s ‘reviewing’ the ethical storm surrounding the EPA chief.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt and his allies in the administration are on a mission to save his job — offering a blitz of interviews to typically friendly media outlets while separately accusing a former agency staffer of a cascade of damaging leaks.But the White House made it clear Wednesday that President Donald Trump is not pleased with all the negative headlines surrounding him.Pruitt’s challenges appeared to deepen when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders — asked why Trump is “OK” with the leader of the Environmental Protection Agency renting a condo from a lobbyist for $50 a night — responded that “the president’s not.”

“We’re reviewing the situation,” she said, adding: “The president thinks that he’s done a good job, particularly on the deregulation front. But again, we take this seriously and we’re looking into it and we’ll let you know when we finish.” Continue reading “Pruitt and allies launch campaign to save his job”

The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.

The following article by Sharon LaFraniere and Katie Benner was posted on the New York Times website April 1, 2018:

Donald J. Trump’s ascension to the White House has drawn scrutiny from investigative agencies into the family real estate business of his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

It was sweet redemption for Charles Kushner last year when his son Jared was named senior White House adviser. A dozen years earlier, a sordid scandal stemming partly from a family falling-out had reduced the senior Mr. Kushner from real estate baron to felon making wallets at a prison camp in Alabama.

Now, with his son newly installed as a top aide to the president, Mr. Kushner even expressed hope, one close family friend said, that he might receive a pardon.

Absolution, however, is not what the White House has conferred on the Kushners. For the patriarch and his family, the pinnacle of American political power has turned out to be a wellspring of trouble.

Jared Kushner is embroiled in the special counsel inquiry, including questions about whether he discussed the family’s business with foreign officials — a suggestion he has denied. His younger brother, Josh, has opposed the Trump presidency, driving a wedge between the men in a family that prizes close ties. Continue reading “The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.”

Behind the chaos: Office that vets Trump appointees plagued by inexperience

The following article by Robert O’Harrow, Jr., and Shawn Boburg was posted on the Washington Post website March 30, 2018:

White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, White House personnel director Johnny DeStefano and National Security Council Chief of Staff Keith Kellogg follow President Trump as they walk to board Marine One from the Oval Office, Feb. 16, 2018. credit: Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post

An obscure White House office responsible for recruiting and vetting thousands of political appointees has suffered from inexperience and a shortage of staff, hobbling the Trump administration’s efforts to place qualified people in key posts across government, documents and interviews show.

At the same time, two office leaders have spotty records themselves: a college dropout with arrests for drunken driving and bad checks and a Marine Corps reservist with arrests for assault, disorderly conduct, fleeing an officer and underage drinking. Continue reading “Behind the chaos: Office that vets Trump appointees plagued by inexperience”

The White House views the police killings of unarmed black men as a local issue. They aren’t.

The following article by Eugene Scott was posted on the Washington Post website March 29, 2018:

Stevonte Clark, whose brother Stephon Clark was fatally shot by police on March 18, joined a crowd of protesters interrupting the Sacramento City Hall meeting. (Reuters)

On the West Coast, citizens filled a Sacramento City Hall meeting Tuesday protesting lawmakers’ response — or lack of it — to the fatal killing of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by police earlier this month. Police say they believed he had a gun, but only a cellphone was found near his body.

On the same day, officials in the Deep South declined to charge two Baton Rouge police officers in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling nearly two years ago. The 2016 shooting came the day after a Midwesterner — Philando Castile — was killed by a Minnesota police officer after the St. Paul man told the law enforcement officer that he legally had a gun in the car. Continue reading “The White House views the police killings of unarmed black men as a local issue. They aren’t.”

Trump Talks of Bringing Back Rob Porter, Aide Accused of Spousal Abuse

The following article by Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website March 26, 2018:

Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, at Joint Base Andrews in February, shortly before he left the White House amid allegations that he had abused his two former wives. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

WASHINGTON — President Trump has stayed in touch with Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary who stepped down after allegations that he had abused his two former wives came to light, according to three people familiar with the conversations, and has told some advisers he hopes Mr. Porter returns to work in the West Wing.

The president’s calls with Mr. Porter have increased in the last few weeks, as the number of people he is close to in the White House has dwindled because of the large number of staff departures, the people familiar with the calls said.

In Mr. Trump’s orbit, few people are ever permanently exiled. He often sees aides who are subject to public criticism as extensions of himself, coming under fire because critics want to attack him, and he has described the Porter situation in those terms to some people, those briefed on the discussions said. Continue reading “Trump Talks of Bringing Back Rob Porter, Aide Accused of Spousal Abuse”

‘It’s chaos. . . . It’s not good for anything’: After rejecting Trump’s offer, Ted Olson admonishes him

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website March 26, 2018:

Credit: Stephen Voss

Former George W. Bush administration solicitor general Ted Olson last week turned down President Trump’s entreaties to join his legal team for the Russia investigation. And now Olson is explaining what seems to be his reasoning.

It probably won’t surprise you. Continue reading “‘It’s chaos. . . . It’s not good for anything’: After rejecting Trump’s offer, Ted Olson admonishes him”

After Another Week of Chaos, Trump Repairs to Palm Beach. No One Knows What Comes Next.

The following article by Mark Landler and Julie Hirschfeld Davis was posted on the New York Times website March 23, 2018:

President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Thursday. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump decamped to his oceanfront estate here on Friday after a head-spinning series of presidential decisions on national security, trade and the budget that left the capital reeling and his advisers nervous about what comes next.

The decisions attested to a president riled up by cable news and unbound. Mr. Trump appeared heedless of his staff, unconcerned about Washington decorum, or the latest stock market dive, and confident of his instincts. He seemed determined to set the agenda himself, even if that agenda looked like a White House in disarray.

Inside the West Wing, aides described an atmosphere of bewildered resignation as they grappled with the all-too-familiar task of predicting and reacting in real time to Mr. Trump’s shifting moods. Continue reading “After Another Week of Chaos, Trump Repairs to Palm Beach. No One Knows What Comes Next.”

Trump Chooses Bolton for 3rd Security Adviser as Shake-Up Continues

The following article by Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website March 22, 2018:

Lt. Gen. McMaster is the latest in a series of high-profile exits from President Trump’s administration. He will be replaced as national security adviser by John R. Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations. By ROBIN LINDSAY and DREW JORDAN on Publish Date March 22, 2018. Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times. Watch in Times Video »

WASHINGTON — President Trump named John R. Bolton, a hard-line former American ambassador to the United Nations, as his third national security adviser on Thursday, continuing a shake-up that creates one of the most hawkish national security teams of any White House in recent history. Continue reading “Trump Chooses Bolton for 3rd Security Adviser as Shake-Up Continues”

‘Elected to lead, not to proofread’: Typos, spelling mistakes are commonplace in Trump’s White House

The following article by David Nakamura was posted on the Washington Post website March 21, 2018:

Misspelled tweets and press release typos are becoming the norm under President Trump, but critics say it points to a pervasive carelessness in the White House. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

President Trump boasted during the campaign that he has the “best words.” If the past 14 months in the White House are an indication, he and his team also have the worst spelling.

Among the many casualties of Washington’s protocols in the Trump era has been rigorous attention to the accuracy of the printed word — whether it’s the president’s typo-filled tweets or the White House’s error-prone news releases. Continue reading “‘Elected to lead, not to proofread’: Typos, spelling mistakes are commonplace in Trump’s White House”