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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Staff Sure Seems Eager to Tell the World He's an Imbecile
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/trumps-staff-sure-seems-eager-tell-world-hes-imbecileTrump's Staff Sure Seems Eager to Tell the World He's an Imbecile
Kevin Drum
Feb. 8, 2017 12:52 AM
Every day brings new stories out of the White House about what an idiot Donald Trump is. I kinda sorta try to stay away from them, with only sporadic success. But this one is worth it for reasons unrelated to the anecdote itself. Here are S.V. Date and Christina Wilkie:
So he made a call―except not to any of the business leaders Trump brought into his administration or even to an old friend from his days in real estate. Instead, he called his national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, according to two sources familiar with Flynn's accounts of the incident.
Flynn has a long record in counterintelligence but not in macroeconomics. And he told Trump he
Just for the record, the answer about the dollar is: it depends. But a weak dollar is good for boosting exports and reducing the trade deficit, so that's probably what Trump was looking for.
These anecdotes are basically liberal porn for those of us who revel in reports of Trump's almost unfathomable ignorance. I include myself among the revelers, but I also know that there's no way of knowing for sure which of these stories are true and which are just malicious gossip. What's more interesting is the topic of the rest of the story:
Information about Trump's personal interactions and the inner workings of his administration has come to HuffPost from individuals in executive agencies and in the White House itself. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs.
While some of the leaks are based on opposition to his policiesthe travel ban on all refugees and on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim nations, for instancemany appear motivated by a belief that Trump's words, deeds and tweets pose a genuine threat.
This is truly bizarre and unique. Every new White House has lots of growing pains and plenty of leaks. But they never feature leak after leak after leak portraying the president as a boob. That's something new.
At this point, I'm mostly curious about who's doing the leaking. Is it career staff from the Obama era who are still working in the White House until they get reassigned? Or is this coming from folks who were actually hired by Trump? If it's the former, it's still unprecedented but probably just represents lingering resentment. However, if Trump's own people think he's an idiot and are happy to let the whole world know it, something is very, very wrong.
But I don't know which it is.
True Dough
(17,392 posts)that Drumpf isn't fixated on the leaker(s). You'd think he'd be publicly warning that whomever is sharing these tidbits with the media will be facing dire consequences. I haven't heard anything of the sort. Anyone else?
DK504
(3,847 posts)"And while leaks typically involve staffers sabotaging each other to improve their own standing ...."
This sounds royal politics in a great hall while the jester tries to make people laugh while we should be crying.
leftstreet
(36,119 posts)February 8, 2017
Washington (CNN)The White House is ramping up its search for a new communications director in an effort to lighten the load of embattled White House press secretary Sean Spicer, multiple sources told CNN.
A source familiar with internal communications said President Donald Trump is disappointed in Spicer's performance during the first two weeks of the administration.
Cha
(298,077 posts)It's too obvious the blotus is a "boob".. he tweets it daily
randome
(34,845 posts)...he would quickly be revealed as a clueless fraud. That's why he consulted Flynn, instead.
MFM008
(19,837 posts)we knew he was an ass.
winstars
(4,220 posts)I believe all of it, every story SOUNDS JUST LIKE HIM but it all seems a bit too easy...
Is Bannon directing these leaks so people will just never know what might come next and from that tactic they will keep everyone on the back foot at all times???
Or he is such a complete fucking ass that people just have to share these incredible stories that make him look so completely clueless....
babylonsister
(171,111 posts)http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028608001