Trump, with crises swirling around him, has been going rogue.

[sunonmars]

Link to tweet

https://www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/as-trump-spirals-many-of-his-staffers-are-looking-to-exit

Even for this chaotic administration, the last few weeks have taken a toll on President Donald Trump and his staff. A tragic mass shooting, big-name staff departures, and a series of scandals — all in the growing shadow of the investigation into Russia’s involvement in 2016 election — has left the White House under a dark cloud of low morale and constant frustration.

Many mid- and low-level staffers are anxious to leave and are actively looking for jobs elsewhere, sources close to the White House say. Those staffers saw the surprising resignation of Trump loyalist and communications director Hope Hicks on Wednesday as a sort of tipping point.

A former White House official said he's spoken with more aides inside the White House who are trying to leave the administration, but not necessarily getting the kinds of high-paying offers in the corporate world as former aides usually do.

"Things are still pretty bleak inside the White House," the source said. "I've talked to several people in the last week trying to find a way out, but they can't get out because no one is really hiring people with Trump White House experience. Not a fun time to say the least."

Another source close to the administration said he has also talked to those on the inside about potential job offers. The source said he remembers seeing one particularly fitting pun about Hick's departure on Thursday: "The White House has lost Hope." "That about says it all, right?" the source added.

Meanwhile, Trump, with crises swirling around him, has been going rogue, taking positions that aren’t in line with the GOP and surprising his aides — more so than usual — with his comments on issues like trade and gun control.

This level of chaos, unusual even in the relative terms of the Trump presidency, is underlined by a staff exodus. Trump famously values loyalty to a supreme degree. And right now, Trump’s White House is bleeding loyalists, and those who are left are under deepening pressure.

Trump used an open-press meeting on guns with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday to essentially buck long-standing Republican orthodoxy and the National Rifle Association while siding with Democrats about the legitimacy of more stringent gun control proposals. He went as far as to say: “Take the guns first, go through due process second.” And on Thursday, Trump announced he wanted new tariffs on steel and aluminum, again with cameras rolling and without fully informing his staff of the decision.

Members of Trump’s own party on Capitol Hill are still trying to figure out what to make of Trump’s recent comments, especially on guns.

"I don't know," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, when asked about narrowing the conversation after Trump broadened it at Wednesday’s meeting. “You saw it, right? It was wild. I just I think the president's going to have to narrow his list of issues that he would like to see addressed and figure out ... what's realistic."

There are any number of weeks or months from Trump’s first year in office that could reasonably be considered the most crisis-laden, but the last month is taking a real run at the crown.

The spiral began soon after Trump’s first State of the Union address, when Trump’s staff secretary, who helped prepare the president for that speech, was accused of serial domestic abuse by two of his ex-wives. The White House defended Porter, who had become of the staffers closest to Trump, before he ultimately resigned.

.............................

Its almost as if he is daring the GOP to jettison him...and I would not be surprised, its classic self destruction.

[Botany]

1. " .... no one is really hiring people with Trump White House experience."

[Yavin4]

2. Ever since Highly Dysfunctional Inc. closed it doors, there's not much demand out there for a

Trump staffer.

[GeorgeGist]

3. iceberg ahead.

[redstatebluegirl]

4. Does anyone think a lot of this is that crazy Nazi Miller?

He seems to have a lot of control, if there is such a thing, over what is going on. Maybe it is Kelly, maybe Trump, I guess we may never know.

[gratuitous]

5. Unfortunately for Trump

Unfortunately for Trump, the people he thinks he's pandering to now have seen his act. We know there's no substance to anything he says. He pops off just for the sake of popping off. Unlike his nitwit fans, we know better than to believe anything that comes out of his cat-butthole mouth.

That doesn't mean, though, that I won't be shoving that stupid shit about gun-grabbing he said yesterday right down the throats of his stupid online fans.