Inside Donald Trump's White House Chaos

[babylonsister]

http://time.com/4672974/donald-trump-white-house-chaos/

Inside Donald Trump's White House Chaos
Philip Elliott
12:16 PM Eastern


For two years, Donald Trump mastered the art of disruption. Name a political precept and he probably broke it during his improbable march to the White House. But disruption in government--the rulemaker breaking the rules--turns out to be more costly. In the first month of his presidency, the New York billionaire has witnessed the lesson of Samson: toppling the temple can be painful if you try it from the inside.

Federal judges in four courts froze a hastily issued Executive Order barring certain immigrants from entering the country. Intelligence officials leaked descriptions of classified intercepts in a winning attempt to force Trump to fire his National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, who had misled the nation about his ties with a Russian diplomat. Then more leaks came, from current and former officials to the New York Times, asserting that Trump campaign aides and senior Russian intelligence officials had been in contact during the 2016 presidential campaign. And the President of China, Xi Jinping, successfully pushed Trump to retreat from his pledge in December to give more recognition to the government in Taiwan.

Disruption can take many forms. Protesters have filled the streets, blocked airports and interrupted town-hall meetings by lawmakers across the country. Republicans, meanwhile, have been growing increasingly restless, with the House Oversight Committee probing Trump's security protocols for discussing classified information at his weekend retreat in Mar-a-Lago, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell suggesting that the Senate investigation of Russian interference in the election would expand. Others in the GOP have raised concerns that their legislative hopes under unified Republican control could fade, given the confusion over Trump's priorities on issues such as tax reform and trade. "There are a lot of questions on the part of the people who took the President home after the dance," explains Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas.

In response, the White House has fallen back on its reality-show ways, distracted by the internecine drama of senior aides who spend their days mixing government business with jockeying for position and favor with the boss. No one has felt the pressure more than White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who was christened as the man "in charge" by the President mere weeks ago yet has been trailed ever since by snipers regarding his aptitude and longevity for the job. Running the White House in a normal environment can be overwhelming. But the affable 44-year-old routinely finds himself rushing down the hallway from his office to intercept unscheduled visitors to the Oval Office. He had to break up one impromptu meeting of Trump and his Homeland Security adviser after an aide asked the chief if there had been a change to the schedule.

Little takes place in the White House these days without a complication or contradiction. Take the dismissal of Flynn. As senior aides prepared to announce his departure as a resignation, counselor Kellyanne Conway, who often boasts of her direct access to Trump, went on television to declare that Flynn had "the full confidence of the President." Then as officials quickly tried to correct that statement, Priebus received notice on his phone that a release had misspelled the name of Colombia, a South American ally whom Trump had called earlier in the evening. At roughly the same time, others close to Trump were telling Breitbart News, the conservative website once run by Trump strategist Steve Bannon, that aides were drawing up a list of replacements for Priebus. (Bannon denounced the story. "This guy is doing an amazing job," he tells TIME of Priebus. "I'm proud to call him a partner.&quot The next day, Conway was on Twitter fending off reports of her own demise--"Uninformed chatter doesn't matter"--just hours before the Office of Government Ethics suggested that the White House discipline her for likely breaking government rules when she endorsed Ivanka Trump's fashion line on live television.

The result of all the melodrama is a sense of constant chaos for a watchful nation and a crippling anxiety for White House officials. Some aides now refuse to communicate by email, given that federal law requires such messages to be archived for historians and investigators. Many have taken to using encrypted apps to get around the investigations Trump has ordered to clamp down on leaks. Others are skittish about even picking up the phone, assuming someone is always listening or monitoring calls. "It's dysfunctional, as far as national security is concerned," says Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican. "Who's in charge? Who's making policy? Who's making decisions? I don't know if anyone outside of the White House that knows."

snip//

If anything is clear, it is that the drama will not soon end. The past few weeks have been remarkable for many reasons, but without a clear change in correction, more tumult awaits. It took a four-star general, speaking to a military conference in Maryland, to put the full stakes in context. "Our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil. I hope they sort it out soon, because we're a nation at war," said Army General Tony Thomas, who commands U.S. special-operations forces. "As a commander, I'm concerned our government be as stable as possible."

[GusBob]

1. Its like a Shakespeare tragedy

or a Sit-Com

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. When a SERVING 4star General says "unbelievable turmoil", it's serious.

He wasn't speaking politically, but as a commander of troops who needs stability at the top.

[Cha]

3. This is what comey, the russians, stein, sarandon.. all the trump voters wanted

[BumRushDaShow]

4. "It's dysfunctional, as far as national security is concerned," says Senator John McCain"

McLame helped to create that chaos. HE owns it along with all the rest of them.

[HAB911]

5. Some things never change

Donald Trump Reportedly Eavesdropped on Private Phone Conversations at Mar-a-Lago

[coco22]

6. He puts plastic on windows..

to hide from the media. I told my friends throughout the campaign that he was probably bugging of his visitors at his hotels and that he was blackmailing people so they wouldn't tell his secrets.