Trump just said 'nobody disobeys my orders.' Here are 7 times they seemingly did.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, released with redactions on Thursday, showed that President Trump's staffers don't always listen to his demands.
So on Monday, CNN's Kaitlin Collins asked Trump about that revelation. "Nobody disobeys my orders," he tersely and falsely claimed before walking away. As a recap, here are seven — or possibly more — officials who proved him wrong.
1. Former White House Counsel Don McGahn. Per Mueller's report, McGahn was "prepared to resign" over Trump's insistence that he have Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oust Mueller.
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.
2-3. Rick Dearborn and Corey Lewandowski. Trump asked these two officials to tell then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to "confine the Russia investigation to future election meddling only," Mueller's reporting shows. They didn't listen.
4. Ex-FBI Director James Comey. Trump told Comey to drop his drop his investigation into Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. But Comey refused, leading to "Flynn's prosecution and conviction for lying to the FBI," Mueller's report says.
5. Jeff Sessions. Trump tried to get his ex-attorney general to "unrecuse" himself from the Mueller probe, the report showed. Not that it's even clear if unrecusal is a thing.
6. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. She was ousted after saying she wouldn't try to reinstate a family separation policy, and for refusing to illegally close the border, per an NBC News report.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
7. Some anonymous senior official — or a few. Remember the whole New York Times op-ed that detailed a legion of Trump officials working to disrupt his agenda every day? It's unclear who wrote it, or just how many officials are in this so-called resistance, though some speculate Nielsen was behind it all.
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Political cartoons for December 6Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a pardon for Hernandez, word of the year, and more
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
