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Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman is out with a rundown of increasingly off-the-rails Trump tidbits as relayed by White House insiders and a Republican briefed on the decision to cancel Trump’s attendance at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice that brought an end to World War I. After seeing glaring headlines around the world that were critical of Trump’s absence and widespread speculation he bailed on the ceremony because his unusually coiffed hair won’t stand up to rain, Trump lashed out, blaming the Secret Service, saying they told him Marine One can’t fly in the rain (it absolutely can) and traveling by presidential limo was too big of a security risk.
Welp, not so, an unnamed Republican tells Vanity Fair. It was all about that hair.
One Republican briefed on the internal discussions said the real reason Trump did not want to go was because there would be no tent to stand under. “He was worried his hair was going to get messed up in the rain,” the source said. “[John] Bolton and everyone was telling him this was a big mistake.” A former administration official said Trump hates being outside in wet conditions. “What I honestly think? He woke up and said, ‘It’s pouring rain. This is a joke and I’m not doing this.’”
Joke’s on us: This clown is in the White House. But, Sherman also reports that Trump is too scared to fire John Kelly because he’s concerned Kelly will campaign against him in 2020, and that firing Kelly ally Kirstjen Nielsen is a backdoor move to get Kelly to quit. Because Donald Trump is a coward and a weak, weak president.
Kelly’s resignation would be a big victory for Trump. For months, Trump has been reluctant to fire him, partly because he’d have to do it personally, and partly because he doesn’t want to make Kelly a potent enemy on the outside. “Kelly has decided to hang in there and get humiliated day after day,” a person close to Trump said. Trump recently told a former official that he was worried Kelly would campaign against him in 2020 if he fired him, a person briefed on the phone call said. But Trump may be getting over those concerns. According to two sources, Trump and Melania had a conversation on election night last week about the chief of staff position with Nick Ayers, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s top choice to replace Kelly.
There are also reports Trump is increasingly irate and raging at White House staffers after the heavy Republican losses in the midterms and Democrats getting control of the House.
When it comes to John Bolton’s senior deputy, Mira Ricardel, Trump once again called on others to do the firing after she reportedly butted heads with Melania’s staff. In this case, it was White House attorney Johnny DeStefano who got the call to drop the hammer. Has Trump ever actually fired someone in real life?
“The president called Johnny DeStefano today and said, ‘Get the bitch out of here or you’re gone,’” a source briefed on the conversation recalled.
Nice language, right? At least one Cabinet member is straight-up hiding out, avoiding visits to the White House.
Fear of Trump’s rage has spread throughout the Cabinet. According to one Republican, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has told people he’s afraid to visit the White House because he doesn’t want to be fired.
Basically, the White House is in complete disarray. One can imagine seeing Trump coming down the hallway toward your office looks a little like this these days.
via GIPHY