Why Trump's aides are so openly trashing him
On the unprecedented outbreak of presidential advisers dissing their boss
President Trump's critics never seem to quit.
In just the last week, one detractor gave an interview to the Financial Times suggesting that the president needs to "do better" to condemn white supremacy after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia; another went on Fox News and said President Trump speaks for himself — and maybe not for the country — in expressing America's values on the world stage. Tough stuff.
The problem for Trump? These detractors work for him.
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.
It was Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council — and one of Trump's most prominent Jewish advisers — who criticized the president to the Financial Times. And it was Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who told Fox News that Trump "speaks for himself" on American values, leaving Chris Wallace slack-jawed.
In most administrations, it's practically taboo for White House officials to criticize their president so openly and on the record — or even to suggest a sliver of difference with the president's views. "You should not air the dirty laundry with the president in public," Roger Stone, a Trump ally, sniffed to The Washington Post.
This, of course, isn't most administrations. Which suggests one reason Cohn and Tillerson might've said what they said: History is watching. And they know it.
Yes, history is always watching the White House. But given the disruption Trump caused by being elected, and his inability to let a week go by without distraction and controversy, it seems likely that this administration will get the treatment more than most — that, like the Nixon administration, which practically created its own cottage industry in publishing, it will be dissected by historians, journalists, and writers for decades to come.
There will be heroes and villains in those stories. And surely, lots of people working for President Trump have already decided that they don't want to be seen as the villains. So how can they prevent it?
The way this typically works is two-fold: First, smart officials cultivate journalists assiduously and "leak" their off-the-record assessments to get real-time observations into the public debate. Meanwhile, everybody keeps a diary of sorts so they can write a tell-all memoir after leaving office, where they can portray themselves as frankly — and heroically — providing advice the president didn't want to hear.
The leaking is clearly happening, and the diary-keeping almost certainly is too. But Cohn and Tillerson are taking things much further — and I suspect it's because they know that the president is so plainly and extremely wrong about so much.
"The wrong side of history" is a terrible cliché, meant to short-circuit debates before they get started. Whenever you hear somebody use the phrase, it almost always means they'd rather avoid arguing a subject on its merits. Except that history has pretty much already pronounced its judgments on Nazis, Confederates, and white supremacists, and the verdict is not that they are "very fine people." Same thing for murderous despots of the type that President Trump goes out of his way to avoid criticizing. In both cases, the wrong side of history is also, emphatically, the wrong side of now.
That doesn't mean all the debates and struggles surrounding race and governance are settled once and for all, nor does it mean we can't — as a society — backtrack. It does mean, however, that in the broad sweep of things, well, you might not want your reputation and legacy tied to President Trump.
Remember, Cohn and Tillerson were proud, accomplished men before they went to work for Trump. They probably envisioned enhancing legacies the usual way — by endowing universities, funding the arts, contributing to charity, and having their names put on buildings. Now? It's all too easy to envision angry undergrads of 2040 demanding those names be removed, if they ever get there at all.
The people who work for Trump have already cast their lot with him for various reasons: to push their own agendas, for prestige, or simply to serve their country. So the best they can hope for now is to do a little salvage work, and hope the books that are written have a little bit of nuance to them.
Will it be enough? History tends to be kindest to outsiders who boldly speak "truth" to power. Think about the heroes of Watergate — journalists like Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, senators like Howard Baker. Insiders like Mark Felt, the FBI official who served as the "Deep Throat" source to Woodward and Bernstein, tend to be viewed a bit skeptically, but more charitably than the insiders who don't leak.
But perhaps to be viewed skeptically is a win over flat-out villainy. When it comes time to start influencing the story that history will tell, there's no time like the present.
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
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
The teenage 'maths prodigy' who turned out to be a cheat
Under The Radar Jiang Ping defied expectations in a global competition but something wasn't right
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puppet shows, pagodas and pho: a guide to Hanoi
The Week Recommends Vietnam's capital city blends the ancient with the new
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'There are benefits, but not acknowledging them would tell only half of the story'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published