President increasingly isolated, advisers say

Recruiting new staff members may pose challenging task.

WASHINGTON — Back from overseas and confronting an unforgiving political environment, President Donald Trump appears increasingly isolated inside the White House, according to advisers, venting frustration over the performance of his staff and openly talking about shaking it up. But as he considers casting off old aides, Trump is finding it challenging to recruit new ones.

The disclosures from investigations stemming from Russian meddling in last year’s election — coupled with the president’s habit of undercutting his staff — have driven away candidates for West Wing jobs that normally would be among the most coveted in American politics, according to people involved in the search.

By the time the first change in what may be a broader shake-up was announced Tuesday, the White House was left without a replacement. Michael Dubke, the White House communications director, said he would step down, but four possible successors contacted by the White House declined to be considered, according to an associate of Trump who like others asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

The challenges for any communications adviser to Trump were on display Tuesday morning as the president returned to Twitter with more provocative messages challenging Germany and Democrats.

“We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military,” Trump wrote. “Very bad for U.S. This will change.”

He also repeated his contention that the Russia investigation was merely a political distraction by Democrats seeking to discredit his Electoral College victory.

“Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News,” he wrote.

Advisers have cautioned Trump about his use of Twitter, with lawyers making the argument that every post could be considered evidence. Diplomats likewise have worried that his Twitter messages can disrupt relations with allies unnecessarily.

Talks with two former advisers, Corey Lewandowski and David N. Bossie, about joining the White House staff also grew more complicated.

Bossie, a former deputy campaign manager, signaled that he does not plan to join the staff, citing family concerns, one person close to the discussions said Tuesday. It was not clear what that might mean for Lewandowski, who was the campaign manager until being fired last summer but who has remained close to Trump.

Amid this fluid situation, Trump faces several consequential decisions this week. He interviewed two more candidates Tuesday to replace James Comey, whom he fired as FBI director this month. Trump also must decide by Thursday whether to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as he promised during the campaign, or sign a new six-month waiver delaying such a move while he tries to negotiate Middle East peace. And he has vowed to announce this week whether he will pull the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement negotiated by President Barack Obama.

Whether Trump will actually reorganize his White House team remained uncertain. He has often talked about expelling people from his orbit, only to decide not to, as he did with Stephen Bannon, his chief strategist, a few weeks ago. Seemingly reinvigorated, Bannon is now among those leading the effort to convince the president that he needs to overhaul his operation to focus more intensely on the nationalist policy goals that animated his candidacy.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, on Tuesday held his first White House briefing since the president returned from a nine-day international trip amid talk that Spicer’s own role may change. But Spicer denied that the president was dissatisfied with his staff.

“I think he’s very pleased with the work of his staff,” Spicer said. “I think that he is frustrated, like I am and like so many others, to see stories come out that are patently false, to see narratives that are wrong, to see quote-unquote fake news. When you see stories get perpetrated that are absolutely false, that are not based in fact, that is troubling.”

He added that the president was upset at the use of “unnamed sources over and over again.”

But just hours earlier, Trump posted a link on Twitter to a report on the “Fox & Friends” website based on an unnamed source seemingly intended to defend Jared Kushner, his son-inlaw and senior adviser.