July 4th may well be Fireworks Day in more than one sense for Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, according to a Politico article Sunday night, stating that Trump has given yet another ultimatum to Priebus, please me by July 4th or “you’re fired.”
Talk of Trump’s July 4th deadline has made the rounds in the White House, but insiders and those close to the president are not holding their breath, given the perpetual talk that Priebus and other senior staffers are on the way out.
Trump’s first deadline for the firing of Priebus and many staffers that he brought on from the Republican National Committee was the 100-day mark.
The president then considered the idea of a Memorial Day shakeup when he returned from the foreign trip, and then most recently, July 4.
"It's become comical that every holiday becomes a referendum on Reince," said one adviser to the president.
"Even when he lets him go, he's not going to fire him. He'll just give him another meaningless post. Because it's politics and it looks better that way. There's no reason to offend [Priebus'] friends in the party, so they'll find a much more important job for him."
Priebus was brought on to the White House as a broker between Trump and the Republican establishment, specifically because of his close relationship with Ryan, who Trump has reportedly been disenchanted with in recent weeks.
The article goes on to state Trump's frustration with everything from the rollout of the health care bill to the travel ban to the Comey firing; all of which he blames on Priebus. And that's not all:
Trump has blamed Priebus for leaks out of the White House that he believes have come from disgruntled RNC staffers whom Preibus brought into the West Wing, two administration officials and three outside advisers said. He also blamed Spicer, who was brought on at Priebus' behest, for the lack of full-throated defense for his firing of Comey.
Trump has weighed the idea of moving Priebus to the role of ambassador to Greece, because of his Greek descent.
Trump told Bossie, “That Priebus will enjoy Greece," according to two people with knowledge of the comment.
Trump has been speaking to deputy campaign manager David Bossie and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski about taking posts in the White House as deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor, respectively — that is assuming that Priebus can get everything “cleaned up” first:
"I'm giving you until July 4," Trump said, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation.
"I don't want them to come into this mess. If I'm going to clean house, they will come in as fresh blood."
Fresh blood, indeed. If Washington were Transylvania, it would take Dracula and his entire coterie working sunset to dawn to provide enough vital fluid to straighten out the mess in the Trump White House. Who knows, maybe if Priebus plays his cards right he can get an extension to Halloween? If not, the Mediterranean is quite lovely this time of year.