Can't fire who he wants, can't keep who he likes
By Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer
Updated 3:26 PM ET, Fri March 2, 2018
... On a series of occasions over the past weeks, aides have been caught off guard by Trump's proclamations of policy, including his shifting positions on gun control. After he accused a Republican senator on Wednesday of being "afraid of the NRA," he invited a representative of the National Rifle Association to the Oval Office a day later. The envoy, executive director Chris Cox, tweeted afterward that Trump and his administration "don't want gun control."
The whipsaw mood was most evident on Thursday, when Trump rushed steel and aluminum executives to the White House to discuss new tariffs on imports. Nostalgic for an era when the American economy was undergirded by steel plants -- and keenly aware that his base of supporters have felt left behind by evolving industries -- Trump has always viewed a trade war as a political win, even as he's been warned by aides of the pitfalls.
"IF YOU DON'T HAVE STEEL, YOU DON'T HAVE A COUNTRY!" Trump proclaimed on Twitter Friday, even as markets opened sharply lower on the tariff plan he unveiled in the Cabinet Room a day earlier ...
On Friday, Kelly sought to provide an upbeat view of the administration during a mostly off-the-record session in his West Wing office. The last time Kelly convened such a meeting, Trump caught word that reporters were nearby and hijacked the meeting himself. This time, Kelly waited to begin until after Trump had departed the White House to attend the Rev. Billy Graham's funeral in Charlotte, North Carolina.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/02/politics/trump-staff-tensions/index.html
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