Advisers, officials, and Trump friends agree: The White House right now is not the place to be
The mood inside the White House is about what you'd expect — tense, dark, with some paranoia for good measure, more than a dozen officials, outside advisers, and friends of President Trump told The Washington Post Tuesday.
The administration is dealing with the fallout from Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer in June 2016, who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. Trump is furious that now his eldest son is involved in the Russia scandal, and even people who support Trump Jr. call the situation a "Category 5 hurricane." At the same time, two senior White House officials and an outside ally said Trump is being pushed by daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, and first lady Melania Trump to replace Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff, on the grounds there needs to be a staff shakeup; representatives for all three deny this, while friends told the Post Trump is hesitant to replace Priebus while Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
A constant question in the White House is, "Who's leaking information to the media?" and to change the narrative, some GOP operatives are planning on looking up old stories by journalists who write about the White House, finding any mistakes or perceived biases, then demanding corrections before blasting the stories on social media and conservative outlets, one person told the Post. Another admitted this might not work, since "the meeting happened. It's tough to go to war with the facts."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As for Trump Jr., people close to him say he has become defiant, and agreed to an interview Tuesday night with Trump friend Sean Hannity because, as the Post reports, he "saw the Hannity appearance as an opportunity to give his version of Richard Nixon's 'Checkers' speech, a 1952 address in which the then-vice-presidential candidate defended himself against accusations of financial improprieties." Some friends are distancing themselves from Trump Jr. as they wait to see what happens, and they say it's too bad he can't spend his days as he'd like: hunting and running the Trump Organization. "The kid is an honest kid," one friend of 39-year-old Trump Jr. said. "The White House should've never let that story go out on the president's son."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?
Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published