Trump unrestrained: Recent moves show president listening to his gut more than advisers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

I spoke to the former president of Trump’s casinos for clues to Trump’s impulsiveness on tariffs, North Korea and Tillerson. He said Trump acts this way when he’s under intense pressure https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-unrestrained-recent-moves-show-president-listening-to-his-gut-more-than-advisers/2018/03/13/c4c5291e-26d7-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html …

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Trump unrestrained: Recent moves show president listening to his gut more than advisers

By David Nakamura and Damian Paletta March 13 at 6:01 PM
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Follow @davidnakamura Follow @damianpaletta

For much of his tumultuous tenure, President Trump has made impulsive, gut-level pronouncements — about dealing with Democrats on immigration, tearing up the Iran nuclear deal and supporting stricter gun control — only to be walked back by his more cautious staff. ... Those days, it appears, are over.

In the past two weeks, Trump has ordered tariffs on steel and aluminum imports over the fierce objections of his top economic adviser and agreed to an unprecedented meeting with North Korea’s dictator despite concerns from national security aides. On Tuesday, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who had forged a tight working relationship with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to try to rein in some of Trump’s most impetuous decisions. ... “I made that decision by myself,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Though he was talking about North Korea, it is a mantra that has never rang truer in his nearly 14 months as president.

Trump’s moves have shaken and alarmed a West Wing staff who fear the president has felt less restrained about acting on his whims amid the recent departures of several longtime aides, including communications director Hope Hicks and staff secretary Rob Porter. Late Monday, Trump’s personal assistant John McEntee, who had served from the earliest days of his campaign, was fired after losing his security clearance, further depleting the ranks of those the president feels he can trust.

White House allies in Washington suggested that Trump has been liberated to manage his administration as he did his private business, making decisions that feel good in the moment because he believes in his ability to win — regardless of whether those decisions are backed by rigorous analysis or supported by top ­advisers. .... Other people who have worked with Trump said his recent moves are an indication that he is concerned with the state of his presidency. ... “When he’s under pressure is when he tends to do this impulsive stuff,” said Jack O’Donnell, former president of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. “That’s what I saw in the business. When he began to have pressure with debts, when the {Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City} was underperforming, is when he began acting very erratically.”
....

David Nakamura covers the White House. He has previously covered sports, education and city government and reported from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Japan.
Follow @davidnakamura

Damian Paletta is White House economic policy reporter for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, he covered the White House for the Wall Street Journal.
Follow @damianpaletta

[DBoon]

1. So that is Trump's nickname for Putin

"my gut"

[C_U_L8R]

2. This what happens to your gut

...when you go to bed with an armful of Big Macs.
Talk about toxic.

[BigmanPigman]

3. AND he has been on a diet since Hope left the W House making him even more

crazy. There is DANGER AHEAD!!! Duck and cover and stay there until given the "all is well" signal!!!!!

[raccoon]

4. Some people thought they could control Adolf Hitler, too.

They thought wrong.