‘Volatile’ Trump ‘verbally and emotionally’ abused ex-DHS secretary Nielsen because she refused his ‘illegal’ demand to close US-Mexico border

From former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, President Donald Trump has made life miserable for many of the Republicans who have been part of his administration. And the forthcoming Philip Rucker/Carol Leonnig book “A Very Stable Genius: Donald Trump’s Testing of America,” according to The Guardian’s David Smith, shows that there was also considerable tension between Trump and former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The Guardian has obtained a copy of the book, which has a January 21 release date on Amazon — and Smith reports that Trump believed Nielsen wasn’t tough enough when it came to U.S/Mexico border policy. Nielsen became secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in December 2017 and resigned in April 2019.

“In some instances,” Rucker and Leonnig write in the book, “the volatile president was verbally and emotionally abusive toward Nielsen. ‘Kirstjen, you’re just not tough enough,’ Trump would tell her. Trump complained Nielsen did not ‘look the part’ of Homeland Security secretary.” Continue reading.