Trump is reportedly turning on 'virtually every person around him'


President Trump is reportedly spending some of his last days in office "bitterly" turning on nearly everyone in his orbit to the point that officials are now trying to avoid the West Wing.
As Trump continues his attempts to overturn the election he lost to President-elect Joe Biden, Axios reports that he's "turning bitterly on virtually every person around him" and "griping about anyone who refuses to indulge" his efforts or baseless conspiracy theories.
Among the targets of his ire is evidently Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump has reportedly been complaining isn't "fighting hard enough" for him. Pence's upcoming role presiding over the Senate as the results of the 2020 election are validated, which the president would consider "the ultimate betrayal," has started "to loom large" in Trump's mind, Axios says.
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.
But it's not just Pence, and Axios reports that as Trump lashes out, "everyone is in the blast zone," including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and White House counsel Pat Cipollone.
"Top officials are trying to stay away from the West Wing right now," Axios writes.
Trump, whose baseless allegations that there was widespread voter fraud in the election have been shot down by Attorney General William Barr and others, has "turned to a ragtag group of conspiracy theorists" to help him overturn Biden's win, holding meetings at the Oval Office to discuss "extreme measures" that White House officials noted "would be unconstitutional or otherwise unworkable," The Washington Post previously reported. Amid such efforts, Axios writes that "we cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House." Read more at Axios.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
5 unusually elusive cartoons about the Epstein files
Cartoons Artists take on Pam Bondi's vanishing desk, the Mar-a-Lago bathrooms, and more
-
Lemon and courgette carbonara recipe
The Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the Left
Talking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official says
Speed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveries
Speed Read The halting of weapons shipments was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic
-
IAEA: Iran could enrich uranium 'within months'
Speed Read The chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Rafael Grossi, says Iran could be enriching uranium again soon
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump says Iran and Israel agreed to ceasefire
Speed Read This followed a night of Israeli airstrikes on Tehran and multiple waves of missiles fired by Iran
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program