Trump confidante describes Trump as a 'pressure cooker' about to blow


Senate Republicans were flabbergasted on Monday that President Trump would pick a fight with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a crucial vote on tax cuts and other Trump priorities, while the White House argued that Corker forced Trump's Sunday morning Twitter attack by suggesting that Trump's chief of staff, secretary of state, and defense secretary were the only thing standing between the U.S. and "chaos." Later Sunday, Corker explicitly said that Trump needs managing so he doesn't start "World War III."
Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement Monday decrying the "empty rhetoric and baseless attacks" against Trump, while Kellyanne Conway told Fox News that Corker's tweeted counter-punches were "incredibly irresponsible." But inside the White House, Trump's "flashes of fury" have left his aides "scrambling to manage his outbursts," which have "torched bridges all around him," The Washington Post reports, citing "18 White House officials, outside advisers, and other Trump associates."
Trump's tweet-attack on Corker caught staffers by surprise, but the president has reportedly been fuming about Corker's comments and reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called him a "moron," hurt that he hasn't gotten enough credit for handling three major hurricanes, and frustrated with his Cabinet, the Post reports. He is also isolated and feeling penned in by the stricter Oval Office access controls enforced by Chief of Staff John Kelly:
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.
One Trump confidant likened the president to a whistling teapot, saying that when he does not blow off steam, he can turn into a pressure cooker and explode. "I think we are in pressure cooker territory," said this person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly. [The Washington Post]
Given Trump's cryptic comment last week about the "calm before the storm," that's hardly a reassuring metaphor.
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
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grab
Speed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail
Speed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published