It seems that the Trump Administration loses -- or fires -- someone every week. Last week, it lost two staff members because of accusations of domestic abuse. Ezra Klein writes that there are three reasons what was once a trickle has now become and flood:
1. Trump’s volatility creates fear, confusion, and frustration:
No one knows quite what he will do or say or want, and so staffers spend their days working on deals and plans that they know could be wrecked by a tweet or a late-night phone call or something the president saw on Fox & Friends.
Trump is also a difficult and disloyal boss who doesn’t listen when you brief him, doesn’t read the documents you prepare for him, and can’t correctly remember what you’ve told him. And if you anger him, he will turn on you in a meeting or, worse, in public. No one wants to end up like Steve Bannon or Jeff Sessions. And none of this is a secret to the men and women who might be next in line for these jobs.
2. Incoherence at the top leads to constant infighting below:
Trump is uninterested in core questions of governance, has never resolved the ideological tensions in his administration, and is heavily influenced by whoever gets to him last. The result is an ongoing battle, which plays out through both bureaucratic maneuvering and constant leaking, between the various ideological factions of the administration.
This makes the Trump White House a particularly dangerous place to work. All of the factions are constantly maneuvering to consolidate or regain influence by deposing members of rival factions.
3. Early Staffing Decisions have led to ongoing scandals:
The third zone of dysfunction is the Trump administration’s haphazard staffing and vetting procedures.
Similarly, the Trump White House is mired in investigations circling the activities of Trump’s motley, amateurish campaign crew — Donald Trump Jr. and Carter Page and George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn and Jared Kushner would have been nowhere near the center of a normal presidential operation — and those investigations are discouraging new staffers from joining the administration because they don’t want the hefty legal fees of getting caught in the Russia investigation or whatever scandal may erupt next.
Those who know Trump or have worked for him say that he doesn't do due diligence. He makes decisions with his gut and flies by the seat of his pants.
It should be no surprise that his administration is a shambles. Reports are that his staff is running for the exits.
Image: DAFilms
