It's Narcissism plain and simple. Why can't we do something to commit DJT and, then, find an interim replacement who will run the White House/this country (!) with some form of rational sanity????
Today's new bright idea? Cozying up to Kim Jong-un. Wonderful.
2
Anyone dumb enough to work for Trump’s administration should be disqualified on that basis.
10
Who’s next to be voted off the island? Who will be the next one to “self-deport”?
6
There is a lot of commentary on the fact that Trump keeps saying there is no chaos in the White House when there is in fact chaos in the White House. We have to remember that this is Donald Trump we are talking about, and reality is as he sees it, just as he saw a million people from where he stood on inauguration day, pictures aside. And from Trump's view, that constructed by leisurely mornings and a workday that begins at 11 with alert, enthusiastic staffers calling him "Mr. President," nap time, and another meeting of enthusiastic staff calling him "Mr. President," Then it's off to his quarters at 4:30 to watch all the pundits scream "chaos." What chaos? The White House is run like a well-oiled machine, from his perch.
5
To echo Louis XIV, "I am the State"
7
Kellyanne needs to realize that integrity is something that an individual alone has control over. If you choose to be a doormat for someone, your integrity will also be challenged. So there is no "get with the program" but stick to your principles.
6
Of course he wants it this way.
6
The executive branch of our government is not a toll booth - one person cannot run it alone. The White House is supposed to be executing the most complex, consequential and far-ranging operations on the planet. To do this with even moderate success requires a large staff of bright, dedicated and experienced individuals working closely together in a highly organized fashion. They need to be led by a person of vast knowledge and protean talents. Something like we had going for us until last January.
Now, to paraphrase another president, we are engaged in great civil upheaval, testing whether this nation can long endure. As the White House frays and disintegrates before our eyes, the capacity of our nation and our democracy to endure such willfully induced chaos is being tested as never before.
Of this situation, Yeats said it best:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
8
This is a presidency of zero.
11
I don't think Trump has a 'self' to listen to but he definitely has Hannity and Rupert to help him understand the meaning of the sounds coming from his gut.
3
Why do so many in and around this administration use the relative pronoun "that" to refer to people instead of "who"? As in "people that change." Is the inability to distinguish between people and things part of the problem?
2
What role does David Dennison have in the White House staff?
5
There's only one exit I'll care about.
15
Quoting Brookings--"43 percent turnover rate calculated by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a scholar at the Brookings Institution as your cultural, far outpaces that of any first-year presidency in the last four decades"-- is like quoting Pol Pot about camp counseling activities. Brookings "scholars" are still pining away about Hillary's shocking loss and Obama returning to community organizing.
Both of these NYT "writers" have one thesis and one thesis only--continue to build on the Sovietized narrative being broadcast out of New York City's mass-media central that Trump's White House is in "disarray".
Like Lincoln, Trump needs to keep hiring and firing until he finds the right team, which might "spin" a few more heads and push the Brookings' number higher--not necessarily a bad thing.
4
Quoting Brookings--"43 percent turnover rate calculated by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, far outpaces that of any first-year presidency in the last four decades"-- is like quoting Pol Pot about camp counseling activities. Brookings "scholars" are still pining away about Hillary's shocking loss and Obama returning to community organizing.
Both of these NYT "writers" have one thesis and one thesis only--continue to build on the Sovietized narrative being broadcast out of New York City's mass-media central that Trump's White House is in "disarray".
Like Lincoln, Trump needs to keep hiring and firing until he finds the right team, which might "spin" a few more heads and push the Brookings' number higher--not necessarily a bad thing.
1
I love watching the mental gymnastics of you Branch Donaldians.
You're a new breed of Believer, and your scripture mostly comes in spurts, but you aren't much different from the neo-Christians who claim there aren't any contradictions in the Bible, just passages in which the Word of God is too ineffable to clearly understand.
10
If he gets rid of Sessions and Miller most of the country would be more than happy, but that's all he has left along with the adult in the room (Kelly) and Mr. high roller (Minuchin). Trump says only he can fix things. That may be true, but no one is going to fix the incredible trail he has left behind.
4
They can spin it any way they want. Doesn't change the fact that it's an increasingly catastrophic presidency.
11
Why don't we eliminate the middle man and get our orders straight from Putin?
19
One person perhaps. Please don't use President in the same sentence.
3
As last one left , we know for sure the so-called president WON'T turn out the lights - -but by then, the grid won't be working.
6
Sounds like a coming film by Clint Eastwood -
"The Good, The Bad, and the Lonely"
4
yes he just doesn't play well with others
3
Trump's "guts" are filled with Giardia, and he doesn't wash his hands before returning to the kitchen.
9
All the right people....
6
Barbara,
Steven Miller will never leave as his Bromance with and adoration for Trump are too strong, and Miller absolutely ADORES influence and power and has no compunction about speaking as though he is an advisor to a dear leader dictator.
12
I agree that Miller will not leave. He'll stay as long as he can as Trump and his office in the White House gives his white supremacist positions validity,
2
This is not a presidency.
I'm not sure what you can accurately call it, but it's not a presidency.
21
Someday, when he isn't around anymore, people are going to have to sit down and write a new constitution , preamble, amendments. Put new regulations for running for congress, states positions, etc. we must stress integrity, morals, ethics. Exclude those who would sell them for a buck. Make sure people who have money don't run our lives because they have more than us. If we learn nothing from what chaos does to a country, what it does to its people , the unnerving, panicky, gut clenching feelings , we won't leave a safe, calm, just place for future generations. We deserved better. And yes our children and theirs deserve better too.
21
Elly-How long do we have to wait for Trump to be gone? Isn't there a case to be made for Trump's lack of fitness? Yes, I agree with your suggestions and observations and the fact that we deserve better - NOW.
6
It's truly amazing. However brilliant the founding fathers were, they left so much undone, so much to chance and whim. For example, they never anticipated that congress would simply refuse to vote on a Supreme Count nominee. Congress should have had a time limit or the nominee gets seated. Also, they never anticipated a congress subservient to the president. So many other obvious misses that we're only realizing now.
5
I agree wholeheartedly in the"NOW"' but I fear and rightly so there are no such men in power who have the fortitude to do what this country, the people need. Each chaotic incident leaves us frustrated, numb, and disgusted with the whole GOP. The only reason being - they are saving their own skins. But November needs to be when our voices count, when we can finally be heard loud and clear. Vote!
2
"The people who are leaving are the people who are telling him you can’t do this". Some things he can't do because of legal limitations and the US Constitution, Mr. Stone. Trump's inclination in such matters is moot. Elected positions is this country are entailed by design.
7
He relies on his own judgement - that’s a chilling thought!
16
Even more of a reason to take away Trump's first-strike capabilities. He alone should not be able to start a nuclear war.
12
The people working within earlier Republican administrations were both considerably older and unfamiliar to the President-elect. When staffing decisions were made, positions within this administration were filled with those who had little or no experience working in Washington. It's only a matter of time before the learning curve becomes "sink or swim".
5
If the "one" you are referring to is D. Trump. then shouldn't it be the Presidency of None?
7
A psychologist once explained to me that someone who has cognitive dissonance basically is within a concrete bunker and will surround himself with yes men who confirm his world view. Only a trained professional can ever deal with people like this.
That is Trump. He lives in a world of his his own delusions, and only those who share and reinforce his delusions can communicate with him. The rest are discarded recklessly.
It is a sad time for the US that Republicans in Congress only communicate with Trump with great care as though he is a toddler or lunatic: Donny, there's a good boy. Put down the gun, Donny. Here's a cookie for you.
14
Here is the oxymoron of the day from the Chief Simpleton,
President Trump once said “I alone can fix it.”
Working in Trump's White House is his version of the movie "Deadpool".
9
While the Trump side show continues, Ryan, McConnell and all other Republicans remain complicit. Traitors all.
17
He has no judgment!
11
Whether you agree or disagree, I do not recall a President who has pursued implementing his campaign promises as quickly as this President. As for the advisers, they are that Advisers who can make their best arguments for the President to consider in making his final decision, or modifying it if he can be convinced a modification is appropriate.
As an adviser, one cannot expect to have one's views fully adopted each time, if at all. But that does not mean that the advice or the adviser are not providing valuable input to the process. To quit because one's position was not adopted deprives the President and the nation of valuable input, and reflects ego where one always has to win, or the bat and ball will be picked up, and the player heads for home in a huff.
It saddens me to think a Vermonter could be so gullible.
5
It saddens me that you had no substantive response, but found yourself compelled to post an insult.
Pursuing his campaign promises so quickly and so ineffectively. Changing his mind by the hour or day. Considering no arguments in disagreement with his gut, only making some concessions to hold back, and those to humor a few in his immediate family. Not modifying when advised against something -- doubling down.
His advisers quit in part because Donald Trump is depriving the nation of their valuable input. The ego involved is of those that stay while being insulted, humiliated or ignored -- they can't seem to quite stiffen their backbones to acknowledge that the only ego that matters is Donald Trump's.
You write as though Donald Trump acts with mature judgment based on examined principles with a full grasp of the issues involved, open to engaging intellectually with a range of opinions other than his own: really?
4
I place this solely on the shoulders of McConnell & Ryan. They should be tried for treason along with 45.
50
I'm sure that if we asked the founding fathers for their thoughts on Trump, they would all tell you that they're glad they're dead.
29
[Trump] added, “Who’s going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?”
My bet is on Melania, assuming she has a good prenup.
More important, though, is that Mr. Trump doesn't have the "big brain" he claims to have. Where he does have skills, he has little or no enduring value base on which to make decisions. He appears to slog his way through one mess to the next, mostly of his own making.
A man who won't listen to others, let alone take their advice, is a man who doesn't understand how little he knows and understands. Trump personifies the type.
23
That's exactly why she's not leaving -- we can be confident that she does not have a good prenup. She thought she knew what she was buying into -- only for it to morph into this. Free Melania! We should start a GoFundMe for her.
2
Is it too early or too late to ask Congress for a vote of no confidence- or to start a campaign to recall the 2016 Presidential election?
13
This pretty much reads as dictatorship in the making. He has advisors saying people's duty is not to question him, not one of them feels accountable to anyone but him - not the office but Trump the incredibly flawed and egotistical man.
16
Fewer and less skilled advisers at the White House makes it easier for the 2.8 million permanent federal employees to maintain the status quo.
2
Up is down, black is white, welcome to "Trump world." Can we just start calling him "President Bizarro"??
19
I believe the time has come for relentlessly calling out the abject disgrace of our grifter not only in opinion but in reporting. The same goes for the grifter's Republican party (the grifter has always been a Republican, no matter what he called himself back in the day.)
It is ridiculous to require our priceless ink-stained wretches to deliver on-the-other-hand reporting of a skeezy grifter, vile traitor and his enablers.
There is no on-the-other-hand. Our nation teeters on the brink.
15
Defiantly uninformed, arrogantly ignorant, he swaggers across the poopdeck, sure to be swept overboard. Who knew commanding a ship at sea could be so complicated?
Character and competence, the two main reasons -- plus a few smaller ones -- why Trump falters, flails, flounders and falls.
18
Trump must claim "I like chaos" as he is pathologically disorganized. His narcissistic self cannot admit any deficits, therefore chaos must be by design and is of course hugely successful.
11
Trump is the ugly end of the intellectual trajectory that the Right has taken since Buckley and Weaver. No matter what linguistic fluff they used to cover it, Conservatism was never a philosophy or a school of thought. It was always just a feeling, and their political activity has always been to enshrine feeling into parity with reason. After George W. Bush's spectacular collapse they couldn't explain themselves any more, so they stopped trying; and then they attacked explaining at all. Now they have the imperious monomaniac they always wanted, ruling viscerally by whim, listening solely to the voice inside his gut, and exposing modern Conservatism for the scam it always was.
11
There are stark differences in this administration compared to the previous one. The previous administration levied the largest tax increase in history on businesses in the middle of a recession. This administration cut business taxes and major US companies are now handing out trickle down bonuses and hiring more people. The previous administration hated Netenyahu and Israel, turned their backs on Saudi Arabia and bombed Libya taking out Kadaffi. This administration patched up the Israel relationship, befriended Saudi and opposed the violent terrorist regime of Iran. Illegal immigration is down by 70%, jobless claims at an all time low, Wall St doing great. Big difference between the last administration and this one.
1
It's not even a presidency of one, because Trump is the emptiest of empty suits.
17
Trump knows more about anything than anyone – Just ask him.
6
Welcome to the world of the Emperor. I learned very early on (when I was still a child) that the more you thought you knew everything, the less you really know. With an egomaniacal Narcissist it is impossible to actually see anything beyond your own reflection. I simply cannot wrap my brain around the current acceptance that he is even president. He is not MY president, and he certainly is not President of the U.S. There is a responsibility to that office, which he is both uninterested and unqualified to fulfill. We HAVE to find a way to protect our country from his blundering.
8
On the other hand, it's said that too many cooks spoil the broth. Who knows what to believe anymore. Somebody just needs to tell us, preferably with their mouths shut.
Too many cooks might spoil the broth, but you at least need someone who knows how to cook to get any broth to begin with.
4
This will likely the least staffed Administration. As in soon enough, this Administration will be exclusively the Trump Family and they can add the White House to their business portfolio.
It's amazing we're still getting to such lengths. Trump's amateur dictatorship is a dud! Because there's one thing cannot do that makes dictators who they are and keeps them there. Enacting fatal retaliation! He and those around him aren't that savvy,let a lone bright,which has been proven repeatedly. Sometimes, I think he's frustrated by the fact that in spite of his position, there are limitations to how much retaliation he can get on someone but then again were talking about a man-child!
4
No one should be surprised by this. He ran his company without a Board of Directors. He ran his campaign according to his gut. Now, he is running presidency with sycophants. At the end of the day, this will always be a presidency of Trump, by Trump and for Trump.
Congress has checked out rather than being a check. The only other game in town is Mueller. I wonder what the Founding Fathers would think.
9
Calling his administration's high rate of turnover "invigorating" is a spin you've got to kind of admire. And "Who's going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?" is a surprisingly funny joke coming from a man who is doing so many very unfunny things to our country. For those who've left already, I guess DT's charisma - if that's the right word - just wasn't enough to get them through.
5
The one person who shouldn't be consulted about how to run the country is the President. This is so wrong.
6
A. He thinks there is no one nor anyone smarter than himself. A self proclaimed genius. I am sure there is some physiological diagnosis for that. B. He is becoming more and more isolated - not good for anyone's mental heath. Combine A and B and it becomes scarier than scary.
7
Mr.Trump is largely alone in the Oval Office( Trump Tower) because Republicans use his erratic behavior as an excuse to do nothing, to see nothing and to hear nothing.They were with him on the tax bill for their donors but since that has passed they see no urgency to work for the country and uphold their oaths of office.
9
Donald Trump has neither the experience nor the intellect and education to be solely relying on his own instincts. I know he says he went to Wharton and maybe he did, but if so, he certainly did not get an education there.
10
I must disagree with the leader headline to this article on main page; this is a Presidency of "none", as in no-one at the helm. Trump intended it to be an autocratic president-for-life of one, but he has proven not to be capable of even minimal qualifications for the task. There is no-one in the Presidential office at this time, it is vacant of any sentient being.
10
I always thought that the buck stopped with the president. Of course he has advisers and so called experts, but he is in the end responsible for his decisions, not the advisers. Why would any president just do whatever their advisers told them to do, or be managed by anybody?
1
Because the buck doesn't stop with Trump. He constantly deflects blame onto anyone and everyone else. Allies, enemies, doesn't matter. Trump takes no responsibility for his Administration's (comically, disgustingly numerous) failings, but he's happy to hog any glory, usually undeserved.
5
Sure but he should at least listen to their counsel and make informed decisions, not tweet policy and insults in the middle of the night.
6
Remember that when he plunges us into another Republican recession and a war or two.
5
Trump is CHAOS. He wins by creating strife and discord.Trump is selfish;pig headed and the worst thing to happen to America in recorded history.GOP/NRA /BIGMONEY all enable him. Voting GOP and Trump out is the only solution.The clock is ticking;which will come first? Trump destroying us (nuclear;economicaly) is just a matter of time. Vote out the GOP at midterms then Trump in 2020. I pray we have that much time. Ray Sipe
5
Trump has broken, bankrupted or busted everything he's touched. Why should the United States be any different. At least he has a 100% record for being inept, ignorant and a legand in his own mind just ask him. He needs no help. After all he's a stable genesis.
9
No big deal. It's not like he's the leader of the free world or anything. Oh, wait.
9
This president is not really the leader of the free world, he is leader of the US, he expects others to share in the leadership, costs, and benefits.
4
Sure, but it is a shame that whereas the U.S. once led the way we are now being mocked as a nation of fools led by a fool. We used to be viewed as a leader of the free world which was a good thing.
3
You're right, Alex, President Trump is ceding the leadership formerly provided by the U.S. to other countries, our competitors. He's retreating. He's giving up without a fight.
2
Donald Trump, who never held public office before January, 2017, never applied for a job until he ran for president, & has to be coaxed to read ANYTHING is essentially running the federal government by himself.
19
I understand he reads this news paper every day. And why do you think reading is important anyhow, he talks to various groups and somewhat listens to them.
2
Yes, and he watches 4-8 hours of T.V. every day as well. Don't you think he should spend more time working with his staff and making informed decisions not based on what he is seeing on T.V.?
5
Managing any huge endeavor requires excellent leadership, which means knowing how to get people on your side and to give faithful and committed efforts to the endeavor. This is the only time in Trump’s life that he has been obligated to be such a leader. He hates it because it takes a lot of work and true self sacrifice. Previously he avoided such responsibilities to devote himself to his pleasures in life. Now he cannot seem to change his ways. Likely because he does not want to change.
6
At the top it really does not require such leadership, it does require direction and support. And of course he was elected to be different and now he is doing so.
2
Vulcan, that's a hollow excuse. Consider America's most revered and respected presidents. How many of them weren't strong leaders? How many merely provided direction?
3
At the top of a nation it does require that type of leadership. The amount of turnover on Trumps staff is a reflection of his chaotic style. He is way out of his league and should listen to his advisors more and should work to build consensus.
2
What action would be taken in a large corporation if half of the senior management left within one year? Think the Board would remove the CEO?
11
“I alone can fix it.” Yes, he did say that and at the time it seemed grandiose, pompous and arrogant. But if things keep going on the trajectory they are going, then he'll prove to be prophetic. In reality who on earth would really want to work for this disgraceful and inept man.
17
I would be happy to work for the president. I bet many others would be happy to do so as well. Not traditional employees of the government, in fact just the opposite.
1
And, you use the word "judgement" advisedly, right?
7
Having been horrified by everything this man does for so long I did not think anything would surprise me, but that he would make a JOKE about Melania leaving him is astounding. The gaping hole that is his damaged personality is so big no amount of power will ever fill it, any shiny bauble thrills him momentarily, a porn star, a military parade. The only sane reaction to his behavior is terror that he is the US President and that his personal "chaos" is now global chaos. That members of his party can "live" with his behavior, his disgusting self gratification and total lack of qualifications to even understand policy beyond "ratings"....it is insane. History, once you scratch the "official" surface, is dense and full of horror. Given that, and the realities of resource depletion and population worldwide, I always knew that the crazy would start to heat up in this new century, that the years leading into the 2020's and 2030's would hold shocking unknowns. But who would ever have imagined, even seeing signs which pointed to a shift to the right world wide, that the American leader would be such a man?
17
Perhaps he's got Melania's replacement lined up.
4
Apparently working at the White House is now the dinosaur-killer of career moves
9
Hasn't the FDA rated "Fox & Friends" as food poisoning material?
7
talk about dangerous . . . it is the only people who are left who are putting the country in danger . . . anyone with any sense has already left the scene
3
Ms. Conway said she frequently reminded colleagues that they served at the pleasure of the president.
What interesting language. Usually one sees the term “at the pleasure of” used in reference to royalty or emperors. Did someone give Donald a promotion or is that just the way he likes to be treated?
5
Who in the right mind would want to join at this point, knowing there is a good chance they may get drawn to the Mueller investigation and wind up with needing to hire an outside Attorney.
11
How would a worker get involved with that, and if someone wanted to talk to me I don't need or want an attorney.
1
Making
Attorneys
Get
Attorneys
Wasn't it always the plan?
1
If you don't mind being ridiculed by the boss the minute you leave the room, a job in the Trump White House is the job for you.
If you don't mind being berated and humiliated in front of your co-workers, a job in this White House is for you.
If you don't mind working your tail off and pledging loyalty to a man who not only doesn't acknowledge your efforts, he will offer you zero loyalty in return.
But Trump is emphatic that he is flooded with job applications, the best and brightest are still out there aching to work in the West Wing.
Trump's bragging about everyone beating his door down to work in this White House might just be the biggest lie he's ever told.
20
Nobody can humiliate you unless you can be humiliated. And of course everyone should know working for the president is difficult, he as very high standards.
1
"He has high standards" Vulcan, you've said a lot of really stupid things before. I think this one gets the gold medal though
8
Just checking - you are saying that it is OK for Trump to be disloyal to his staff, to insult them publicly, to lie to them and to pit them against each other. That does not sound like high standards to me. "Nobody can humiliate you unless you can be humiliated" - sure, try to keep your cool when the President is back-stabbing you on the national stage and in social media.
5
This would be scary even with a well informed president with decades of relevant experience. Combined with a president who is impulsive, uninformed, incurious, and utterly lacking in experience, this puts us in a very dangerous place.
13
Dangerous for traditional type things, which is why he was elected. He has plenty of experience, just not that failed type that say Hillary has in vast abundance.
2
No failures? How many bankruptcies has Trump had/caused? How many contractors has he stiffed? How many women has he sexually harassed? How many documented lies does he have (hint, it is north of 2,000)?
5
vulcanalex - How do Trump's multiple bankruptcies and failed marriages fit into your idea of experience?
4
It's a presidency of two as long as Trump has Miller on his staff.
8
What Trump has done, thanks to the GOP, is cheapen the Presidency. His decisions are not really decisions they are reactions. When you decide something you mean you have weighed the options and the consequences. Trump reacts with no regard to options or consequences. Most of the world has been quite polite about our leader, but you know that behind the scenes it does not bode well for America. The chickens will come home to roost and may find their coop has been burned to the ground.
15
Robber Baron rats leaving a sinking ship.
I hope they are all caught up in the Muller investigation for money laundering and other corruption.
I hope - above hope - that the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, Carl Ichan the nra, politicians and everyone else who participated in the hostile financial takeover of OUR United States Governments over the last 40+ years are also found guilty of treason, the wealth they stole is fined back to OUR U.S. treasury to pay off the debt they ran up and they are living in red suits in prison.
If not WE THE PEOPLE must use OUR votes, consumer dollars, hard-earned taxpayer dollars and investor dollars to wrest control back from them.
NO WW3 to further empower them and allow them to steal even more from us. Not now. Not ever again.
30
"“It’s obviously very different from most presidents but it’s how Trump has operated,” said Andy Surabian, a former special assistant to Mr. Trump. “He’s someone who likes getting different opinions thrown at him. It’s a fascinating thing for a guy who’s very hardened on certain issues. But I view it as a big positive for him.”"
Trumps fatal flaw is that he has no ability to follow through except when he can make the change on his own. He is not a politician- he has zero ability to persuade people to come to his position. His sole tactic is to bludgeon his opponent into submission. When that does not work, he has nothing. Total zero.
12
Trump plays the infantile game of playing the Devil's Advocate. In any workplace, this never bolsters confidence and positive morale. The results are quite the opposite because it leads to unrest, suspicion, fear, and low confidence. Bringing people into a conference room to watch them fight with pleasure is just about as sick as it could ever get in a workplace environment. This is what Caligula did in Rome. He fiddled while watching Rome burn in A.D.41. Records depict him as the cruelest and unpredictable leader. He restored treason trials and put people to death. (Sound familiar?) Hail to the Chief.
17
The argument could be made that it is in fact a 'presidency of zero,' with absolutely no one at the helm -- certainly not the morally and intellectually rudderless Trump, who has demonstrated again and again that he is conflicted even more with himself than he is with the endless circus of people he hires and then shows out of the White House door.
16
Trump has amply demonstrated he has no regard for the office itself. He began --and will leave--a president of himself, for himself, and by himself.
13
And Trump wouldn't even understand that you were basing your last sentence on a particularly amazing Presidential address. Who knew?
2
You have to appreciate the spin coming from Conway and Stone. Nothing spells encouragement quite like a paycheck. Sanders is a bit off her game though. She's still talking about appointments? No one cares. Non-issue. After blocking Merrick Garland, Republicans don't have a leg to stand on. Schumer is actually being kind. Not to mention most appointee positions don't even have a nominee anyway. Give it a rest.
21
Trump wants it to be only him. He thinks he was elected to be emperor. And when you are an emperor, you expect everybody to bow down to you. If they don't, then they get banished from the realm.
15
As someone who has worked in both large corporations and startups over the past 11 years - what is going on today has the look and feel of a company that is likely to go bankrupt as a result of an incompetent CEO. The various stories that I read about trump all seem like anecdotes I've previously encountered - typically under the heading "do not ever do this" in authoritative books on management, team building, and leadership.
56
Our national motto finally hits home "E Pluribus Unum" "Out of many (60 million voters) One (trump). YIKES!
"Trump increasingly relies on his own judgment."
AND THAT WOULD BE WHAT? which craziness, and at which hour.
What with the biggest crowds and the best employees, how can we go wrong?
signed
His Highness, the Tariff of Rottingham
12
Trump most certainly is 'bowling alone' in the basement lanes of the WH.
11
There are a couple followers who would still bowl with him, Kelly Ann and Miller. But I have to admit it is getting harder to find people without scruples willing to lie and die for the guy who would throw them under the buss if it meant exposing his inability to lead. Oh wait, I just described the code of ethics of a mafia boss.
3
If the stakes weren't so high, it would be great theater to watch Trump's ship of fools run aground.
17
Trump's "instincts" happen to closely parallel Putin's to-do list.
He's got one master, why listen to all that blather about consequences?
11
It couldn't be more obvious that the con man is compromised and anticipating either an obstruction of justice charge, or a massive amount of legal action brought against him. His need to find out from witnesses what they say about him to Mr. Mueller and his investigators is very telling.
From the beginning of his less than stellar presidency, he has acted in a manner that is indicative of guilt and has attempted to obfuscate the truth in a relentless stream of nonsensical tweets and utterances.
Not only isn't he able to retain those hired to run our government, he isn't capable of offering our people a single piece of legislation that isn't self-serving or self-enriching in some way. The most despicable part of his demented, pretend presidency is that he has dragged his family into the fray, and they are poised to face an avalanche of investigation and possible legal action from which there may be no salvation or escape.
What kind of man, or father, can surround himself with his own children, knowingly compromise them, and then renounce them when they no longer serve his purpose?
8
Riddle me this:
What becomes of a nation that allows or even promotes (by some loopholes in our system) a man, who thinks and acts as if he is KING, to rule over them? Are they now subjects rather than a real part of the direction this nation should move? Are you really free in the sense that YOUR VOTE MATTERS or are you just tolerated or dismissed by the ruler?
4
It's all well and good to be seen as tough minded or stubborn or set in your convictions. However when those convictions are based upon falsehoods (e.g., the tweets are full of false assumptions) I worry.
10
I am beyond worrying. What we have is ship wreck and I only can wonder what will be left to salvage.
4
"“Senator Schumer is blocking nominees indiscriminately,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. “He forces time-wasting procedural votes on nominees and then eventually votes in support of them.” She added, “It’s a disgrace, it’s dangerous and it must come to an end.”"
Maybe Lil' Sarah can talk to McConnell about why that is happening....Besides the proven fact that the vast majority of Trumps nominees are proven incompetents.
17
Here's a man (Trump) who for all practical purposes ran a "real estate" company! Not a Fortune 500 big manufacturing company where perhaps he had some management savy and smarts. He had a "mom and pop" real estate company that at best made a few good purchases (more bad ones) and sold his name to buildings in other countries. He says he went to Warton Business school but he could not have learned anything as to management. He wants loyalist yes people working for him and values that over qualifications or integerity. And the adults in the room that are keeping the wheels on this car, are now starting to leave. Imagine our country run by this man with advice by the likes of Stephen Miller or Kelly Ann Conway! If it were not so scary, it could be funny.
16
Take a close look at who advice really "counts". Cohn, one of the few advisors with actual credentials, cannot convince Trump over a period of year that imposing the tariffs would be sheer folly.
Reportedly, Trump "decided" (an exaggeration in terms when it comes to Trump) to impose the tariffs in a fit of rage at the resignation of Hope Hicks. When the press spent days ominously reporting about Ms Hicks' departure, I thought it was way overblown.
If one looks at the timeline however, it would appear that a 29-year old former model whose major qualification may be her pant steaming skills, was the most pivotal in the "decision". So perhaps the press had it right.
Not only have the Republicans "normalized" Trump, they have normalized the idea that Trump cannot function without a 29-year old babysitter. How I long for the days of Bob Corker's "adult day care center", when the babysitters were at least adults.
6
Gee with all those top notch folks jumping ship there's an obvious need to bring new talented people on board, and as POTUS says... people are clamoring to work at the White House. With the departure of Ms. Hicks as communications director and POTUS' personal confidante perhaps the void could be filled by Ms. Stormy Daniels who would appear to have been a confidante of sorts to Mr. Trump in the past.
6
So here's the game now: Anyone but the most desperate, sycophantic, loser will now avoid the white house for what it is-the plague. Therefor the quality of his intel will go down and he will increasingly rely on the only person he trusts. himself. We are in a huge downward spiral, here. With some luck, maybe we will hit bottom soon.
9
Well, not ONLY himself. He has Fox and Friends to tell him what to do, and of course Alex Jones. God help us.
I'm encouraged that Senator Schumer finally seems to have acknowledged that President Trump seems unable to organize a coherent team. I would feel more secure if Mr. Schumer and other elected officials would now take steps to secure the future of this country by, among other things, overturning Citizens United, imposing term limits and implementing campaign finance and election reforms. Such would go a long way toward keeping incoherent, bought and paid for strong men like the President out of office!
6
Good bet Mr. Schumer would love to do all those admirable things--but he's the minority leader. So, unless we can overcome the voter suppression, the Russian interference, and the "proprietary information" in the slick no-paper-trail voting machines, etc., this November, Mr. Schumer will be, as he is now, helpless to remedy this horrific situation. The majority, with those stand-up ideals of morality and ethics, McConnell and Ryan, will put up with Trump because of the Tax Scam now implemented, and their expected success in destroying (they call it "reform") Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and any other hindrance to their goal of complete feudal control.
Who's exploring legal means of retiring Trump?
4
Things will get only worse. How can things get better?
9
"The president, several people close to him said this week, is increasingly running the Oval Office the way he ran his 26th-floor office at Trump Tower, with teams broken into small groups visiting him."
I'm sure this "leadership" style suits him, but to the country, indeed the world, it's the style of a dictator.
That's fine for a privately held organization but not for the federal government. With no checks on his behavior, it leads to amazingly stupid moves like interviewing staff about their conversations with Robert Mueller.
Roger Stone is the last person who should be praising Trump's style and modus operandi. He's likely to end up as one of the most seriously charged people in Trump's orbit, given his attitude and likely complicit behavior as a go-between with the campaign and Russian operatives.
Trump would be toast by now were Congress not so completely bought by our own homegrown oligarchs.
The only Republicans who seem interested in following the rule of law are in the FBI, and the office of the Special Prosecutor.
100
All mention, even Glassman's criticism, speak of Trump's beliefs. Facts never enter the discussion. This is the core of the problems of the right and most especially of Trump. Facts do not enter into the discussion. Facts matter. In fact, they are really the only things that matter.
40
There are two issues:
- People leaving because they are thrown out, or leave because they don't want to deal with the intrigue and chaos
- No one is applying for these jobs because they will end up having to hire an attorney because they will be working in a White House where the president says or does questionable, possibly illegal things every day and they may have to testify.
It will be a hollow shell soon and there will be no one to temper his temper. And that should worry not just this country but the world.
87
The world is worried. Mostly about how many Americans are not worried.
7
Good article. No one in their right mind would work for this guy. A key rule of any successful business is "minimum chaos" so anyone signing on to work in this administration at any level is simply joining the chaos and disruption process. Trump's business history and current statements clearly demonstrate his belief in using chaos to keep everything and everyone guessing.
109
A major reason that Trump has difficulty recruiting people to work at the White House is that they are likely to be enmeshed in one of the many Trump administration scandals which will force them to spend tens of thousands of dollars to retain counsel.
15
There is something terribly dark going on here.Effectively the is destroying(with the republican party's approval?) the security and economic apparatus of the US. in a personal winner take all, scenario,which he intends to neuter the agencies that one can protect the US(CIA FBI), second providing ludicrous court nominees in ,he appellate Federal Courts, three by creating unsustainable and unimaginable,deficits. devaluing US currencies and all debt obligations, four by the republican obvious intentions of destroying the safety net and collective bargaining, and most importantly give aid and comfort to our enemies, while weakening the democratic values inf the few remaining democracies in the world, and fifth, creating a nepotistic mercantile system with his own family and supporters, and sixth, showing support and encouragement for oligarchic monopolies in Russia and China, and complete contempt for the checks and balances of the American system and law . That this behavior is unchecked and rewarded makes it difficult to be a parent to say the least, and his unabashed indifference to the events in Fla(golf) while environmental and labor safety protections are being destroyed, devaluing every life in the US and the world. DOES HE EVEN KNOW IT?
34
Thank you for defining the principles of Trumpism in one paragraph. We might soon see them on posters, if there were not also the principle that there are no principles but that the "program" as Conway puts it is "whatever he wants at the moment."
3
“Everyone needs a foundation of values and beliefs and then good advice to test them against.” I don’t know about their beliefs, but good old American values are certainly lacking, and if they are receiving advice, it is either bad advice or they are not listening to it.
3
The US is now run more like Saudi Arabia. Sons, daughters etc are playing major roles in running the country with a bunch of Republicans who have no moral codes. The tax cut. a lack of environmental protection, hunting down animals in Africa, are the temporary gains provided to the Trump older voters. HIs campaign promises being fulfilled are not for the good of the country but make sure he gets reelected. It would interesting to see what he does in that term. It is a scary thought.
In the meanwhile younger generation has to bear the burden of this lack of long term fiscal and other types of planning. The Trump damage to the country will hopefully end soon without a second term. Many things his supporters are doing is to cut their noses to spite their faces. What a way to go and treat your kids
13
No wonder the civilized world is repositioning itself to look for guidance from and with admiration for European leaders. My WWII-veteran father is spinning in his grave.
48
So glad he finds this "invigorating." The rest of us can find some other adjectives to describe this dysfunctional drama.
43
“It’s obviously very different from most presidents but it’s how Trump has operated,” said Andy Surabian, a former special assistant to Mr. Trump. “He’s someone who likes getting different opinions thrown at him. It’s a fascinating thing for a guy who’s very hardened on certain issues. But I view it as a big positive for him.”
Now the "big negatives": endless bankruptcies, a criminal empire, lying as a way of life, subservience to his Russian paymasters, the list goes on and on.
28
"So many people want to come in, I have a choice of anybody. I could take any position in the White House and I’ll have a choice of the 10 top people...." That is both the funniest and saddest thing I've heard all week.
40
This one man rule should surprise no one. This is the manner in which he ran his business and it is why no one but family retains his loyalty. When you look at his past what you see is the loss of honor and fortune for everyone who works for Trump. So long as Republicans in Congress remain silent in the face of his terrible judgment and actions they too will become part of his destruction of the rule of law and the Constitution — and ours.
Democracy depends upon the majority of citizens acting in a way that supports reason. Donald Trump and his most ardent supporters do not do that. They show in their every decision a contempt and resentment towards others.
When the inchoate upset and distress felt by the average citizen reaches the level of consciousness they need to remember that although they may think their one vote doesn’t count they still need to express it to their representatives who today are busy kowtowing to Trump, the Erstwhile King. And they will need to vote in every election they can for reason and not for resentment.
As Ben Franklin said when questioned as to the kind of government we had formed, “A republic, sir, if you can keep it.”
23
We should not be happy about this state of affairs.
America has had mediocre presidents in the past.
But most of them were bucked-up by at least some competent advisors and cabinet.
Mediocrity can me mediated by competence in others.
But mediocrity does not fare well when it stands alone.
16
I appreciate his complete ineffectiveness in taking action in most areas. We're still suffering from Reaganomics. Trump's legacy is inaction that destroys our regulatory systems of protection.
5
It seems Trump is closing in on what may have been his goal all along, to become the sole star of the reality TV show he has been staging for us all. Shall we call it "Survivor, White House Edition"? Or "Democracy, the End Game?"
165
His co-star David Dennison is catching up fast. Stormy days ahead ...
1
Mr. Trump is not “stubborn” as Roger Stone says, he is focused on one thing to show everyone that he is the smartest guy in the room. If you don't bow down its time to move on. The majority of the people that left got caught up in the special counsels nets. They looked around and didn’t see anything good coming and got out. That is not a good sign for anyone who wants to work in the White House. The president here will turn on you in the blink of an eye and that is no way to work. The president expects loyalty but he doesn’t return it, Jeff Sessions is a perfect example. There will be more departures because this president has no problem throwing people under the bus.
18
Actually, Trump doesn't throw people under the bus, he's too much of a coward. He doesn't fire anyone. They leave after getting slimed beyond their most hideous nightmares.
6
Who needs advisers when you think you know everything. And what's better than an adult day care center without adults.
25
This isn't a presidency of one, it's a presidency of none. As a business mogul, he had multiple bankruptcies and now he's bankrupting America. He alone has ruined the country. He may like chaos but that's not what the American people expect from their president.
66
if American Trump voters expected anything else than chaos from him the’re even more lacking in brain function than we now know. Unfortunately, as history ought to have taught us, it will take a disaster of WW proportions to shake Americans out of their apathy and ignorance.
4
The delusional Trump has said "I alone can fix it" and I am sure he believes he can. But what does Trump really know and what can Trump really fix? Letting Trump be in charge of anything is like giving a ten year old a billion dollars and tell him to build the Taj Mahal. Trump doesn't know what he doesn't know and what's worse he is still supported by too many who think he knows what he doesn't know.
34
Definitions:
Autocrat: a ruler who has absolute power. Synonyms: dictator, despot, tyrant, someone who insists on complete obedience from others; an imperious or domineering person.
Authoritarian: a leader favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
Take your pick.
8
Chaos or shooting from the hip or whatever metaphor, chicken running around without its head or headless snake, doesn't work for large enterprises. It may work for small or family outfits and the Trump empire is essentially an overgrown small business-style mom-and-pop type operation. It's silly to even have to mention the differences between the complexities of executive management with the two organizations, criminal or otherwise.
11
With a 43% turnover rate, one would expect a reasonable amount of alarm from the person “leading” the team. Instead we get the usual idiotic bravado this man has used throughout his life to attempt to explain away his constant failure as something good and desirable. He likes chaos, it helps him make decisions, really? They are bad decisions, dangerous ones for the country and the world.
I see no one close to him who is capable of statesmanship, only handlers and cajolers who seem to think the status of being around the White House is worth the destruction he is causing. Enough has been said about the dereliction of duty we have from Republicans. I would also include much of the MSM.
Why not put more alarm into articles like this? While we get useful information, I do think there is too much effort given to present it in a safe, non controversial way that obfuscates the serious consequences of this Trump experiment. This is not a time to weigh one’s words, we are sliding towards the abyss and getting closer everyday.
13
The high turnover rate in the office of the president is irrelevant when the president isn’t functioning as a public servant with policy goals. What is so bad about a chaos presidency when there really is no presidency at all?
If you work in this office you will either be a handler/fawner or a foil for Trump (ie serious generals/advisors). Either way you are there purely to boost his ego whether it’s deliberate or not.
Pretty soon Trump will tire of the remaining foils and be left only with fools.
91
Once the ship of fools is permanently grounds he will blame Obama for it.
4
Kellyanne may well be the last person standing... the ultimate handler/fawner. What a dishonorable footnote in anyone's career.
2
Is anyone surprised that the man who would be king views his staff as courtiers whose main job is to fawn upon him rather than as public servants whose loyalty should be to the people?
8
This is another description of malignant narcissism.
The only thing Trumps believes in is his unceasing devotion to his own self interest. Anyone in his orbit -- trying to help him and advise him -- is going to confront the fact that he is constitutionally incapable of understanding that there is a "truth" separate from what he wants.
He's unhinged and unfit. It's that simple.
58
While the lowest segments of society are often responsible for the birth of a dictatorship, the rise of the dictator rests on the lukewarm indifference of the elites. In this case, the elites are the educated majority of the United States and the Press. Whether it be cowardice, ignorance, or, more likely, the naive belief that this doesn't happen here, the Press and the educated classes of the US have been reduced to spectators watching the dismantling of their Democracy and the destruction of their institutions. By the time the Press and the educated classes realize what is going on, it will be too late. World History is full of instances where an ignorant clown reduced a proud nation to shreds while the Press walked on glass and the middle class struck a deal with the Devil. Never say it can't happen here - it is already happening.
47
This kind of "president" is called a "strong man". Trump is known to admire them. May the US institutions be stronger than those of other"strong men" countries - or the Weimar Republic.
6
He brought his own swamp to Washington, and now he’s draining it. Promise kept!
9
Almost as if he were previewing the next episode of a show, he added, “Who’s going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?”
omg LOL crazy
yep, he thinks this is reality TV, crazy dangerous,
lying to himself and others is what he's always done, it's invigorating!
Scary.
10
The nation can rest well tonight knowing full well that the core of the Trump Presidential advisory group, Sean Hannity, Judge Jeanine Pirro and the oh so nice Fox and Friends crew, will remain forever in his "Executive Time".
44
TRUMP: “At the Trump Organization I listen to people, but my vision [of its management] is my vision.
Writer Richard Conniff put it this way: 'Almost all successful alpha personalities [like mine] display a single-minded determination to impose their vision on the world.’”
2004: Trump’s book “Think Like A Billionaire”, with coauthor Meredith McIver. Trump explains how he imposes his dysfunctional vision, which now causes chaos in the White House.
3
He's got no plan. He's flailing around because he is unqualified. His present job requires more than getting photo ops and cutting ribbons on someone else's projects.
10
Donald Trump can’t keep anyone because he’s absolutely toxic. This isn’t chaos, it’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.
He reigns like an American king with no clothes. What a waste. What a disaster.
72
Is Sarah HS trying to be inadvertently hilarious?
She's saying Senator Schumer's insistence on procedure in the Senate confirmation process is a "disgrace"?
She works for a man who needed both a porn star and a playboy play mate to cheat on his third wife. She works for a man who is on tape bragging about his success in habitually sexually assaulting women, his daughter's great body, and his ability to barge into dressing rooms at pageants (and there was a teen pageant). He's also on tape mocking the disabled and spouting racist conspiracy theories and misogynistic insults. She works for a many who, after being credibly sued for his Trump U racketeering fraud, said the Indiana-born Judge was unfit because he was "Mexican."
SHS's boss is a prologue and epilogue of disgraceful behavior, and she has the unmitigated audacity to use that word about Senator Schumer? It really would be funny . . . if only it weren't true.
124
Grade for this particular " adviser " : an abysmal Failure. A huuuuge failure. A bid, beautiful failure. I'm telling you. Believe me.
12
The Madness of King George at play here....
4
Trump is like a rabid hamster on an exercise wheel. Frantic motion does not equal forward motion.
12
Two jobs I wouldn't want in the White House would be Chief of Staff and Press Secretary. No thanks. There's no amount of money I would accept for either of those jobs. Especially in the mess that is the Trump administration. I wouldn't want to be the janitor for these incompetent clowns.
8
When a country has a president who is rich, mean and stupid and who professes to "like chaos" that country is in serious trouble.
112
Our country is collapsing around us under this fool's "leadership." When does the negative world and Congressional response kick in? Does he ever say, "Wait a minute, this may be a bad idea."
The disintegration of the White House staff has little to do with his actions and it is our loss. He obviously should be removed from office, but the people who have that power are either blind or stupid.
His mantra is, "Let me see. What can I do to screw up America today?"
9
Will he be able to replace people with whom he is dependent such as Porter or Hope Hicks, especially the latter who held his emotions in check?
The stressses of the Mueller investigation and the womanizing scandals require that he have emotional support. No one can face these challenges alone.
And so talk of his running in 2020 while entertaining and worthy of amusing contemplation is absurd.
At the point when he becomes totally islolated is the time he will disappear. Can be compared to a juggler who has lost all his balls.
3