In the months since former President Donald Trump departed the White House, something of a "cold war" has erupted in his orbit among "competing factions that are seeking to capitalize on their time with" him, a new Politico report describes.
The report details how, as one former senior administration official put it, people in Trump's orbit who "didn't like each other four months ago" now "all have a common interest: how to get some coin out of the Trump post-presidency." In fact, Trump himself has reportedly been warned by his allies that he's currently surrounded by people who are all "singularly focused on enriching themselves," Politico writes.
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.
For example, there was reportedly a bit of a "whodunit" among officials when someone appeared to possibly abuse a confidential donor list, to the point that there had to be a warning sent out that anyone who misuses campaign resources could face prosecution. Former aides and advisers have also accused one another of "overstating" their access to the former president in an attempt to land clients, suggesting to campaigns that hiring them might help get them a Trump endorsement, and they're also all "squabbling" for access to Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Politico says.
Trump spokesperson Jason Miller disputed this characterization of an environment Politico compared to Lord of the Flies, arguing that actually, there's currently "the least amount of ally competition or conflict at this point than I've ever seen," since the former president's orbit now consists only of "true believers." Read more at Politico.
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace planSpeed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU partySpeed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
UK, 3 Western allies recognize Palestinian stateSpeed Read Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized the state of Palestine
