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Over the course of the first six months of the Trump Presidency, there has been a constant state of unrest. From Michael Flynn to most recently Reince Priebus tenures have been short and tumultuous. From leaks to reported shouting matches in the oval office, what’s driving this volatile atmosphere and is anyone capable of righting the ship?
Many have likened what is going on in the White House to some new age gladiator games. A battle royale where Trump enjoys the drama and turmoil and watches while the combatants destroy one another, finally giving his thumbs up or down to who gets to stay.
The most telling fact about the losers in these battles thus far, is that they have been establishment types who supported Trump from nearly the beginning of his run. They were the ones that he had to have early in his campaign to give it any sense of legitimacy. They were also there the entire way advising and pushing him through each hurdle.
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With Friday’s announcement that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was exiting the staff, the throat cutting seemed to reach a pinnacle moment. Priebus was in some ways the most important piece of the Trump campaign puzzle. While he wasn’t officially a Trump supporter prior to the GOP nomination, Priebus is in large part responsible for the campaign’s success. As Chairman of the RNC, Priebus allowed the shitshow to happen. He accepted Trump and his circus as real Republicans and gave them the green light to keep up their shenanigans.
Priebus and his lack of leadership as Chairman left the door open for Trump to insult, run over, and crush true conservative candidates and lifelong Republicans in the primary. While turning a blind eye to Trump, he slowly cut the throat of the entire GOP. Those repercussions are still echoing through the party, most notably in its inability to get any legislation pushed through even though it holds a majority in both houses.
With Jeff Sessions days as Attorney General also looking numbered, it appears that Trump, or at least those around him, are ejecting anyone considered a Republican insider. In so doing they are also eliminating all the adults in the room and losing a lot of knowledge and ability on how to actually get things done in Washington. Sessions was the first Senator that put his neck out for Trump, and it looks like his head, and that same neck is now on the chopping block.
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As more and more find themselves on the wrong end of Trump’s thumbs down, I wonder if they think it was all worth it. Selling their souls and their party out for career advancement, seemed like a winning bet, but now it’s all come to an embarrassing public ending. Sessions a 20 year incumbent in the Senate is looking at potentially being unemployed just six months after taking his new job. Priebus, a once respected member of GOP circles, now looking weak, impotent, and used up.
These are just the most recent, but when you begin to look at the lifelong careers that this President has destroyed in such a short period, its mind boggling. Trump was elected claiming that he would drain the swamp. So far, however, the only swamp creatures to be drained are the ones he brought with him.
Make no mistake; I have no sympathy for those currently being crushed by Trump and his minions. They hitched their wagons to this debacle knowing full well the chance for it all to go off the rails. They ignored evidence, history, and the cries of many around them that it was an enormous disaster brewing. Their personal career ambitions and infallibility complexes led to their ultimate destruction.
Sometimes you get what you ask for, and exactly what you deserve.
Now with John Kelly taking over as Chief of Staff, Trump has installed his own Oenomaus to oversee the gladiators. He has militarized the White House and handed to control of the staff to what some consider an extremist. While others say, Kelly may be just what they need to sniff out and end leaks and push out the rest of the weak that so far have endured. It will remain to be seen if anyone can overcome Trump’s erratic and troubling leadership style. Ultimately it will be Trump that sets the tone.
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While the battles rage on voters will be left to wonder when the show is enough and actual governing needs to happen. So far not a single piece of Trump’s campaign agenda has managed to see the light of day. No meaningful legislation has been passed; no great deals have been made. While entertaining and expected, the dysfunction has given Trump supporters zero return on their investment. At the same time giving the rest of us an unfulfilling opportunity to say, “told you so.”
Trump’s desire to fix this or let it ride may not matter. With all current investigations, Russian problems, and other scandals, the administration may not be in place long enough to notice any benefit. Whether or not this explosive situation can be calmed may be meaningless in the end.
If by chance Kelly is able to stabilize the ship, he may only be doing so to make a smooth transition to an incoming administration.
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Photo: Getty Images