Tag: Trump White House

Bill Maher Brutally Dissects The Trump Administration’s Week Of Chaos

The following article by Lee Moran was posted on the Huffington Post website March 3, 2018:

“All this chaos makes it very difficult for the NRA to run the country.”

Bill Maher broke down the string of setbacks that President Donald Trump’s administration has suffered in the past week on Friday’s “Real Time.”

“So much crazy shit happened, I’m just gonna have to go through it chronologically,” the comedian said. Continue reading “Bill Maher Brutally Dissects The Trump Administration’s Week Of Chaos”

‘Pure madness’: Dark days inside the White House as Trump shocks and rages

The following article by Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website March 3, 2018:

President Trump prepares to board Marine One as he heads to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 23. Credit: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post

Inside the White House, aides over the past week have described an air of anxiety and volatility — with an uncontrollable commander in chief at its center.

These are the darkest days in at least half a year, they say, and they worry just how much further President Trump and his administration may plunge into unrest and malaise before they start to recover. As one official put it: “We haven’t bottomed out.”

Trump is now a president in transition, at times angry and increasingly isolated. He fumes in private that just about every time he looks up at a television screen, the cable news headlines are trumpeting yet another scandal. He voices frustration that son-in-law Jared Kushner has few on-air defenders. He revives old grudges. And he confides to friends that he is uncertain about whom to trust. Continue reading “‘Pure madness’: Dark days inside the White House as Trump shocks and rages”

Trump’s Chaos Theory for the Oval Office Is Taking Its Toll

The following article by Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website March 1, 2018:

President Trump on Thursday at the White House. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — For 13 months in the Oval Office, and in an unorthodox business career before that, Donald J. Trump has thrived on chaos, using it as an organizing principle and even a management tool. Now the costs of that chaos are becoming starkly clear in the demoralized staff and policy disarray of a wayward White House.

The dysfunction was on vivid display on Thursday in the president’s introduction of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The previous day, Mr. Trump’s chief economic adviser, Gary D. Cohn, warned the chief of staff, John F. Kelly, that he might resign if the president went ahead with the plan, according to people briefed on the discussion. Mr. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president, had lobbied fiercely against the measures. Continue reading “Trump’s Chaos Theory for the Oval Office Is Taking Its Toll”

This photo of Trump’s notes captures his empathy deficit better than anything

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website February 21, 2018:

President Trump on Feb. 21 met at the White House with students who survived the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

President Trump held a worthwhile listening session Wednesday featuring a range of views on how to combat gun violence in schools. And while Trump’s at-times-meandering comments about arming teachers will certainly raise eyebrows, for the most part he did listen.

Thanks in part, it seems, to a helpful little reminder. Continue reading “This photo of Trump’s notes captures his empathy deficit better than anything”

Kelly makes changes to White House security clearance process after abuse allegations against top aide

The following article by Robert Costa was posted on the Washington Post website February 16, 2018:

Here’s what the changes to the security clearance process in the White House could mean for Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, under pressure over his handling of allegations of domestic abuse against a top aide, has approved an overhaul of how the White House manages security-clearance investigations, acknowledging missteps but putting the onus on the FBI and the Justice Department to now hand-deliver updates and provide more information.

The five-page document, signed by Kelly on Friday, was obtained by The Washington Post. Continue reading “Kelly makes changes to White House security clearance process after abuse allegations against top aide”

White House has weird response to Trump’s alleged affair with Playboy model

The following article by Aaron Rupar was posted on the ThinkProgress website February 16, 2018:

They’re calling the affair “fake news,” but not saying it didn’t happen.

Karen McDougal Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

The New Yorker published on Friday an in-depth report about an affair between Donald Trump and Playboy model Karen McDougal. The affair reportedly began in June 2006 — the year after President Trump married Melania Trump.

In a statement provided to The New Yorker, an unnamed White House spokesperson characterized the story as “just more fake news.” But notably, the statement doesn’t flat-out deny the affair. Instead, the spokesperson merely claims that Trump says it didn’t happen. Continue reading “White House has weird response to Trump’s alleged affair with Playboy model”

Why the White House timeline on Rob Porter’s clearance is questionable

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website February 14, 2018:

White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned last week, hands President Trump a confirmation order for Jim Mattis as defense secretary, on Jan. 20, 2017. Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

For the entire time Rob Porter worked in the White House — as staff secretary to President Trump, meaning he was responsible for managing documents going to and from the president — he was operating under interim security clearance. That is not uncommon for new arrivals at a government agency: They get the job and interim clearance, fill out the lengthy SF-86 clearance application, talk to the FBI for a background check and wait for permanent clearance to be granted.

What is uncommon in Porter’s case is twofold. First, that he operated under interim clearance for as long as he did. Second, that someone at the White House clearly knew about the spousal abuse accusations for months before they led to Porter’s resignation — yet he never lost even that interim clearance. Continue reading “Why the White House timeline on Rob Porter’s clearance is questionable”

CNN Exclusive: At least 100 White House officials served with ‘interim’ security clearances until November

The following article by Jim Acosta was posted on the CNN website February 15, 2018:

Nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s administration, senior-level staffers — including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Rob Porter — remained on interim clearances even as other senior advisers were granted full security access, according to information obtained by CNN from a US government official.

Having interim clearance can hamper a staffer’s ability to perform essential functions of the job, a former administration official said. It requires those with full permanent clearances to remain vigilant about what information is shared with those still operating on an interim basis. Continue reading “CNN Exclusive: At least 100 White House officials served with ‘interim’ security clearances until November”

Riding an Untamed Horse: Priebus Opens Up on Serving Trump

The following article by Peter Baker was posted on the New York Times website February 14, 2018:

Reince Priebus, the former White House chief of staff, at an event in the East Room last April. Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The meeting, to say the least, had not gone well. Upset at a presidential dressing down, Attorney General Jeff Sessions had just left the White House vowing to resign. Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, raced out of the building, found him in his car, banged on the door and implored him to come back inside.

The dramatic episode, described by Mr. Priebus in a soon-to-be-released book, proved a turning point in the relationship between President Trump and his attorney general, one that has shaped the administration ever since. More than any president in modern times, Mr. Trump has engaged in a high stakes public conflict with the Justice Department with extensive potential consequences. Continue reading “Riding an Untamed Horse: Priebus Opens Up on Serving Trump”

White House counsel walks a fine line in serving Trump’s demands

The following article by Josh Dawsey, Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website February 14, 2018:

White House counsel Donald McGahn attends President Trump’s speech at a Republican retreat in White Sulphur Springs, WV, early this month. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Trump had a request for his lawyer: Call a senior Justice Department official and get him to persuade the FBI director to announce that Trump was not personally under investigation in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

White House counsel Donald McGahn made the call in April to acting deputy attorney general Dana Boente but failed to convince him that FBI Director James B. Comey should make the statement, according to several people familiar with the episode. The refusal further frustrated a president who had already twice appealed directly to Comey, who told him he should have McGahn call instead. Continue reading “White House counsel walks a fine line in serving Trump’s demands”