Tag: Trump chaos

‘I sort of thrive on it’: The impeachment crisis shines a spotlight on Trump’s state of mind

Washington Post logoHe was hectoring and imperious. He was domineering and defiant. And he was audacious and cavalier.

In the three weeks since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opened an impeachment inquiry, President Trump has struck a posture of raw aggression. His visceral defenses of himself — at the most vulnerable point of his presidency — have shined a spotlight on Trump’s state of mind.

Like an aging rock star, the president is now reprising many of the greatest hits from his hellion days. He has bullied and projected — at times leveling against others the very charges he faces — while simultaneously depicting himself as a victim. And he has turned to ominous depictions of America, and in moments sounded an authoritarian tone.

View the complete October 14 article by Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker on The Washington Post website here.

Tracking turnover in the Trump administration

The rate of turnover among senior level advisers to President Trump has generated a great deal of attention. Below, we offer four resources to help measure and contextualize this turnover. The first set of resources tracks turnover among senior-ranking advisers in the executive office of the president (which does not include Cabinet secretaries), whereas the second set of resources tracks turnover in the Cabinet.

President Trump’s “A Team” turnover is 78% as of Sept. 17, 2019

The following chart and table reflect turnover among the most influential positions within the executive office of the president. This data is compiled and tracked by Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, who refers to this group of advisers as the president’s “A Team.” The list of positions that make up the “A Team” is based on National Journal “Decision Makers” editions, and Dunn Tenpas’s methodology is described in detail in a report she published in January 2018. The chart and table below will be updated as additional members of the “A Team” depart their positions. It is important to note the following:

View the complete September article by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas on the Brookings Institute website here.

The month a shadow fell on Trump’s economy

Washington Post logoFaced with internal warnings about a slowdown, President Trump pursued chaotic, contradictory responses.

Top White House advisers notified President Trump earlier this month that some internal forecasts showed that the economy could slow markedly over the next year, stopping short of a recession but complicating his path to reelection in 2020.

The private forecast, one of several delivered to Trump and described by three people familiar with the briefing, contrasts sharply with the triumphant rhetoric the president and his surrogates have repeatedly used to describe the economy.

Even as his aides warn of a business climate at risk of faltering, the president has been portraying the economy to the public as “phenomenal” and “incredible.” He has told aides that he thinks he can convince Americans that the economy is vibrant and unrattled through a public messaging campaign. But the internal and external warnings that the economy could slip have contributed to a muddled and often contradictory message.

View the complete August 22 article by Damian Paletta, Robert Costa, Josh Dawsey and Philip Rucker on The Washington Post website here.

Trump’s whiplash week

The president couldn’t stick to a consistent policy position on guns, taxes or Greenland.

President Donald Trump offered a head-spinning range of policy positions this week, contradicting aides and even himself multiple times on gun control, tax cuts and his interest in buying Greenland.

Trump is no stranger to whiplash-inducing policy shifts that leave his aides and congressional allies flat-footed. And it’s well-known that he often parrots the talking points of the last person he talked to on any hot-button issue.

But Trump’s recent reversals were notable for their breakneck pace and their far-reaching impact, as they left lawmakers, foreign leaders and voters scratching their heads.But Trump’s recent reversals were notable for their breakneck pace and their far-reaching impact, as they left lawmakers, foreign leaders and voters scratching

Disregard Trump’s ground noise. Focus on the signal.

My first year in Congress was spent absorbing attacks from a local newspaper unimpressed by the fact I was the first Republican elected in my area of Florida since Reconstruction. They appreciated my lectures on small government conservatism no more than does the current collection of Big Government Republicans in Washington.

During my freshman year on the Hill, I tried to respond to every charge from every article, political cartoon or editorial page. After one particularly stem-winding speech that I delivered at the downtown Rotary Club in Pensacola, Fla., three-star admiral Jack Fetterman took me aside and gently offered advice that I carry with me a quarter-century later. He put his arm around me and said, “Joe, you have to learn to separate the ground noise from the signal. And here’s the secret, son: It’s almost always ground noise.”

I thought of the admiral’s words this weekend as I glanced at the news feed coming in over my phone.

View the complete June 3 commentary by Joe Scarborough on The Washington Post website here.

Twelve days of chaos: Inside the Trump White House’s growing panic to contain the border crisis

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was a loyal soldier for President Trump and often repeated his falsehoods, but it wasn’t enough to save her job. (Video: JM Rieger/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

He had threatened to close the southern border and ordered a halt to foreign aid for three Central American nations. But as President Trump weighed his next move to respond to a mounting immigration crisis, he had another problem: His homeland security chief was in Europe on a week-long business trip.

The location of Kirstjen Nielsen, the embattled leader of the Department of Homeland Security, on April 1 was like a bad joke for a president who vowed to curb unauthorized immigration but was now showing signs of panic as border crossings spiked to the highest levels in more than a decade. Continue reading “Twelve days of chaos: Inside the Trump White House’s growing panic to contain the border crisis”

Gary Cohn says Trump is ‘desperate’ for trade deal with China

Gary Cohn, President Trump’s former top economic adviser, says the president is “desperate” to reach a trade deal with China and is being ill-served by protectionist advisers who have left the White House “living in chaos” on major decisions.

“The president needs a win,” Cohn said in an interview with Freakonomics, a public radio show and podcast.

Trump expects a China deal to boost the stock market, which has treaded water for the past year, the former aide said. Cohn cast doubt on the president’s ability to obtain fundamental changes in China’s state-led economic system, one of his core negotiating objectives.

View the complete March 13 article by David J. Lynch on The Washington Post website here.

Trump cries ‘fake!’ about media reports of White House chaos. But they keep getting proven right.

Former chief of staff John F. Kelly with President Trump. Credit: Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images

The Trump White House isn’t big on sharing information or answering questions asked on behalf of the public.

The so-called daily briefings are not even monthly.

The “communications” office specializes in stonewalling, often not even deigning to issue a “no comment.”

View the complete January 2 article by Margaret Sullivan on The Washington Post website here.

‘It’s chaos. . . . It’s not good for anything’: After rejecting Trump’s offer, Ted Olson admonishes him

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website March 26, 2018:

Credit: Stephen Voss

Former George W. Bush administration solicitor general Ted Olson last week turned down President Trump’s entreaties to join his legal team for the Russia investigation. And now Olson is explaining what seems to be his reasoning.

It probably won’t surprise you. Continue reading “‘It’s chaos. . . . It’s not good for anything’: After rejecting Trump’s offer, Ted Olson admonishes him”

What Trump calls ‘conflict,’ many Americans call ‘chaotic’

The following article by Eugene Scott was posed on the Washington Post website March 6, 2018:

President Trump spoke about the “energy” in his administration March 6, saying everyone wants to work there. “They all want a piece of the West Wing,” he said. (Reuters)

President Trump likes conflict.

It’s fair to say that many Americans already knew this, or were not surprised to see him confess that during a news conference featuring the Swedish prime minister.

One of the main responses from his surrogates and supporters when called upon to defend Trump’s latest attack against his political opponents — and sometimes even those within his own party — is that the president likes to “punch back.” Continue reading “What Trump calls ‘conflict,’ many Americans call ‘chaotic’”