The Trump White House is like an amusement park for political reporters—constant ups and downs and filled with flashy prizes of dubious quality, in this case in the form of leaks rather than giant stuffed animals. It’s gotten to the point where the leaks themselves are the story, and hey, reporters have really great sources for stories on leaks. Axios’ Jonathan Swan reports on the leakers’ motivations and strategies:
- "To be honest, it probably falls into a couple of categories,” one current White House official tells me. "The first is personal vendettas. And two is to make sure there's an accurate record of what's really going on in the White House."
Let’s take that as an admission that Donald Trump lies and Sarah Huckabee Sanders lies for him and the official White House record is not an accurate one. People also leak because they’ve lost a policy battle and want to use the media and public opinion “blowback” for a second chance at winning the internal debate, or “out of frustration with incompetent or tone-deaf leadership.” And it’s self-perpetuating:
- "Otherwise," the [senior administration] official added, "you have to realize that working here is kind of like being in a never-ending 'Mexican Standoff.' Everyone has guns (leaks) pointed at each other and it's only a matter of time before someone shoots. There's rarely a peaceful conclusion so you might as well shoot first."
These people all signed on for this working environment, but this has implications outside of the White House and a majority of voters did not sign on for an administration guided by malevolence even toward its own staff and in which Sanders was more angry about the leak of Kelly Sadler’s comment that Sen. John McCain is “dying anyway” than she was at the comment itself.
Bonus points, though, for the staffer who told Swan that “I usually pay attention to other staffers' idioms and use that in my background quotes. That throws the scent off me.” Talk about a commitment to your craft.