The most dysfunctional White House in memory

President Trump is already purging his administration

The cracks are showing.
(Image credit: Illustration by Lauren Hansen | Image courtesy iStock)

It's three whole weeks into the Trump administration, and this is already looking like the most dysfunctional White House in memory. While we had plenty of other things to worry about when contemplating a Donald Trump victory during the campaign, this should have been utterly predictable.

White House jobs are famously stressful — long hours, high stakes, and public scrutiny combine to exact a toll on everyone working there. That's why it's rare for high-ranking staff to last a full eight years; even four is a marathon, and many people leave after a year or two. But we'd normally expect people to last more than a month. For at least one of Trump's key advisers, this hasn't happened.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.