Trump schedule leak brings 'chaos' to the White House: 'People inside are genuinely scared'

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

published 4 February 2019

One of the most stunning leaks out of President Trump's administration has returned the White House to a state of paranoia.

Axios on Sunday published months of Trump's private schedule, with 95 pages of documents showing that the president spends about 60 percent of his time devoted to unstructured "Executive Time." This leak "set off internal finger-pointing and speculation more fevered than any since The New York Times' anonymous op-ed," Axios reported Monday, also citing insiders as saying the document release "sowed chaos."

There have been plenty of leaks out of the White House, to be sure, some of which have inspired the staff to desperately hunt for who could have been responsible. But this one was far more severe than usual, as Cliff Sims, the former White House aide who recently authored the tell-all book Team of Vipers, told Axios. "There are leaks, and then there are leaks," he said. "If most are involuntary manslaughter, this was premeditated murder. People inside are genuinely scared." Daily Mail's David Martosko similarly reports, "I'm told this has the West Wing rattled, moreso than the usual petty leaking."

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This reaction can be gleaned even just from the White House's strong pushback, with Director of Office Operations Madeleine Westerhout writing that it's "a disgraceful breach of trust to leak schedules." White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, defended Trump's Executive Time schedule by saying that this time is "to allow for a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive president in modern history."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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