Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
After mystery White House aide’s attack in New York Times...
The hysteria of the screaming tweet brought to mind Kenneth Williams in all his camp Carry On glory. Instead of Julius Caesar shouting “Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me” this was the most powerful man in the world shouting “TREASON” in block capitals.
And far from being funny, the mania behind it could put the whole planet in peril.
In 2016, the world was stunned by Donald Trump’s election victory, but only now, in the last 48 hours, has the opening act begun in a drama that could see America’s elected leader toppled.
The coup has not been launched by the US President’s opponents from across the political floor – they are much closer to home.
After Watergate journalist Bob Woodward revealed that Trump leads a “crazy town” administration, and an anonymous White House official claimed to be part of a “quiet resistance” in a New York Times op-ed, it is clear his presidency is starting to crumble.
It appears those closest to the commander-in-chief are no longer pinning their hopes on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election to help remove him from office. Instead even among his own cabinet there has been discussion of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start the complex process of impeaching Trump.
It is clear senior members of Trump’s own team want him gone – convinced his “unhinged” behaviour is a threat not only to the United States but world peace.
Fighting back from his darkest hour, Trump is trying to wrench back control of his own fate.
In an extraordinary display of defiance soon after the op-ed was published, he appeared in the East Room of the White House and told visiting sheriffs: “The failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial, can you believe it? Anonymous meaning gutless.”
“A gutless editorial,” the President said, then boasted his administration was the best America had ever seen.
But he later delivered a snarling, sinister tweet.
“TREASON?” he boomed in one of the shortest posts of his life to date.
As his molten rage exploded behind the scenes,
Trump quickly portraying himself as the Alpha male of Alpha males, those closest to Trump want everyone to know the emperor has no clothes.
Ahead of next week’s publication of his book Fear: Trump in the White House, Woodward revealed Trump’s closest aides believe the President is an “idiot” with all the understanding of an 11-year-old.
White House chief of staff, John Kelly is said to have openly called his boss “unhinged” and an “idiot,” while Defence Secretary James Mattis said Trump had the understanding of “a fifth or sixth grader”.
Kelly is quoted as saying at a staff meeting: “He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in crazy town.”
Woodward claims Gary Cohn, ex-chief of the National Economic Council, boasted of stealing papers from the President’s desk to avert global trade disasters by stopping him signing them into law.
Trump’s former personal lawyer John Dowd described his ex-boss as “a f***ing liar” who would end up in an “orange jumpsuit” if he testified to special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia probe.
Woodward said the lawyer decided Trump, described as an “aggrieved Shakespearean king”, should not speak to the Mueller investigation because – after running through a mock interview – he became convinced the President could not do it without lying. Dowd has denied the claims. Even more alarming is Trump’s ineptitude on foreign policy.
When his homeland security adviser requested a meeting about the pressing threat from cyberterrorism, Trump complained he was too busy watching golf on TV.
After a chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians in April 2017, Trump reportedly told military brass he wanted to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-assad.