Omarosa & Trump: Does Trump Really Hire the “Best People?”
Drama, secrets, and betrayal. The latest feud between President Trump and former staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman is unfolding like a reality TV show. Omarosa’s new book, “Unhinged,” reveals damning secrets about the Trump White House and Omarosa claims that she has recordings to back it up. Staff shake-ups are nothing new in Trump’s administration, but does the story of Omarosa finally put an end to Trump’s claim that he hires “the best people.” More at Business Insider.
During the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump ran as a savvy outsider who knew how to get things done. His leadership acumen and gut instincts would enable him to hire all “the best people” to help him run the country. The approach had worked in real estate. It was the core conceit of “The Apprentice.” What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, everything… Even if you grade on the Trumpian curve of loyalty matters above all else, Mr. Trump has repeatedly failed. These people are all grifters. Mr. Trump just assumed they were his grifters.
[Omarosa] is essentially becoming an enemy of the White House. And clearly that public breach of loyalty has rubbed Trump in a way no other former staffer’s departure has… It’s not an entirely unique thing in American politics for staffers or even cabinet officials to turn on their president (this is territory trod, to varying degrees, by people like John Dean, Scott McClellan, Paul O’Neill and George Stephanopoulos). But it is a very unique thing in the Trump White House.
Some who have appeared most effective countering Trump are those who employ his tactics, such as Michael Avenatti, attorney for adult-film star Stormy Daniels, and Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer now under federal investigation. They are relentless and omnipresent. They create drama, hold news cycles hostage and dribble out tantalizing nuggets.