As the West Wing turns
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the top name in President Trump’s slam book, obviously, but White House chief of staff Reince Priebus has established his own place of dishonor. For a guy who famously fired people on national TV this president sure seems reluctant to cut loose those employees who fall out of favor.
The president’s new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci — brought in to right Trump’s communications ship — has instead been churning up the waters since he took the job.
Technically he isn’t even officially on the job, since he declared his start date would be in midAugust. But that hasn’t stopped him from launching a bold, public power play. First he made clear in his initial meeting with reporters last week that he reports directly to the president, brutally undercutting Priebus. Then on Wednesday night he left the impression that he blames Priebus for “leaking” Scaramucci’s own financial disclosure form. He deleted the offending tweet after it was pointed out that the form is subject to public disclosure, and he kind of/sort of denied that he had blamed Priebus.
The next morning he called into CNN and said it should be left to Priebus to defend himself against leaking charges.
Asked yesterday whether the president has confidence in Priebus, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders jabbered about the high caliber of all those who serve in the White House, and refused to offer an explicit vote of confidence. She did let slip that the president “enjoys healthy competition.”
Maybe by tossing two of his top aides into a steel cage and waiting to see which one comes out alive?
It’s true — the average American isn’t lying awake at night worrying about the palace intrigue that constantly surrounds this White House. But it is a distraction from the work the president and his team insist they are committed to doing. And as a measure of the control that President Trump — billed as a CEO par excellence — has over his own operation, it is fairly damning stuff.