By Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller, Associated Press
Washington (AP) – Intestine struggles and daggers who torment the first mandate of President Donald Trump returned as a threat to his second, deepening the cracks on trade, national security and personal loyalty issues.
The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where the defense secretary Pete Hegseth has rejected the best advisers and faces a new controversy on the sharing of sensitive information on air strikes in Yemen outside the classified channels. A former Pentagon spokesman who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire HegSeth for presiding over a “complete collapse”.
The interpersonal drama is not – at least – a dominant intrigue of Trump’s return to the White House. But its re -emergence after a period of discipline relative in its ranks reflects a turbulent management style which has been deleted or side, unreformed.
Trump’s national security team was recently shaken by an oval office visit by Laura Loodor, a theorist from the far -right conspiracy who questioned the reliability of his staff. The republican president dismissed some of the officials, embarking on a loss to continue to examine people through the administration.
In an interview with independent journalist Tara Palmeri published on Monday, Loomer made fun of the idea that the White House is “a big happy family”.
“The advisers do not agree with each other,” she said. “Agency heads do not agree with each other.”
Price problems cause the Trump team friction
A large part of the tension is linked to Trump’s determination to use prices to rebalance the world economy, those responsible often contradicting themselves and sometimes turning to insults. Trump advisor Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur whose companies could suffer from higher costs by import taxes, strongly criticized Peter Navarro, Trump’s adviser on trade, as “a dumber a bag of bricks”.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the idea of growing dissension within the administration, saying that there are “many more examples of the team of the president working together with enthusiasm and in collaboration to advance the objectives of the administration”.
“The figures and results of this administration speak for themselves,” she said. “The president and his team do work.”
Trump has always had a high tolerance for chaos, avoiding traditional political deliberations to entertain divergent opinions and see unpredictability as a negotiation tool. He has spent years promoting a competitive atmosphere among staff members, who are often chosen for their dedication and their penchant for aggression.
But now, growing conflicts highlight the risks for more troubles in the coming months, while Trump is advancing with a spectacular overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, international trade, foreign policy and even more.
John Bolton, who was a national security advisor during Trump’s first mandate before writing a critical book of the president’s inner circle, said that the drama reflects the absence of a coherent ideology and the inexperience of many administration officials.
“The only thing they have in common is the conviction that they should show personal loyalty to Trump,” said Bolton. “It did them work. This can actually keep them in work. But that shows how basically they are insisted. ”
The situation is a test for Susie Wiles, the chief of staff of the White House, who helped lead Trump’s presidential campaign last year. She acquired the reputation of imposing an unusual level of order on Trump’s chaotic orbit – although she carefully avoided trying to control Trump or her impulses – and he congratulated her as “the girl of ice”.
During Trump’s first term, he had four chiefs of staff – one of them serving as an actor for more than a year. The second, the former American marine general John Kelly, became a living critic of the president after leaving the post, describing him as a fascist in the 2024 elections.
The White House closes the rows of Hegseth
With his new administration, Trump surrounded himself with loyalists, and he was reluctant to throw anyone over board in response to the negative coverage of the consumer media, which he considers an enemy. The allies say that the hesitation in making staff changes in this term is supposed to deny a victory to criticism, even if it means leaving civil servants in difficulty in place.
On Monday, the president postponed the information that Hegseth participated in a second group cat to talk about the air strikes waiting in Yemen last month. The first cat, which used the encrypted messaging signal, involved the senior administration officials as well as the editor -in -chief of the Atlantic, which was accidentally included in the discussion.
The second, reported for the first time by the New York Times on Sunday, included HegSeth’s wife, who has no job of the government, and her brother and personal lawyer, who both work at Pentagon.
“Even old stuff,” said Trump when journalists questioned him on this subject during the roller of the Easter eggs in the White House. He said Hegseth “does an excellent job” and “these are just false news”.
Leavitt, in an appearance on Fox News Channel, defended Hegseth with a blow against the people who work for him.
“This is what happens when the whole pentagon works against you and against the monumental change you try to implement,” she said. Leavitt’s comment was shared by an official social media account of the Department of Defense.
Trump’s loyalists – not just democrats – point their fingers
However, some of those who are expressed were among the best HegSeth advisers.
John Ulyot, who was spokesperson for the Pentagon until he was asked to resign, wrote in Politico that “it is difficult to see the defense secretary Pete Hegseth stay in his role longer”. He added that “the president deserves better” and “a lot in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly” if Hegseth is dismissed.
The disorder extends into the senior ranks of the Pentagon. Three managers – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – were recently expelled, and they published a statement saying that people “slandered our character with baseless attacks by leaving the door”.
Hegseth did not deny the reports on its use of the signal. But he added: “What a great surprise that a few leaks were licensed and suddenly, a bunch of successful pieces come out.”
Trump’s pricing plans were also a source of stress within the administration, often leading to mixed messages and political confusion. Navarro insisted that there would be no negotiations, contradicting the insistence of the secretary of the Treasury Scott besides that the import taxes aimed to strengthen the negotiation position of the White House.
The president partially withdrew from his plans, but not before Navarro and Musk openly start to argue. Navarro said Musk “protected his own interests” by opposing prices, and he described the electric manufacturer of Musk, Tesla, as a “car assembler” which depends on the import of parts abroad.
Musk, who advises Trump on the means to reduce federal bureaucracy, replied by saying that Navarro was “really a moron”.
Leavitt minimized the dispute by saying: “The boys will be boys”.
“We will let their public fight continue,” she told journalists. “And you should all be very grateful to have the most transparent administration in history.”
Trump often seems more interested in loyalty than veracity. During a part of last year’s campaign, he traveled with Loomer, who has a story of racist attacks against Trump’s opponents and already said that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were internal work.
After Trump won, Loomer became frustrated not to be authorized to help the staff of the veterinarian’s administration. She finally obtained a meeting of the Oval Office with the President, providing research on national security officials who, according to her, were unfair.
After Trump dismissed some of them, Loodor continued his work. Last week, she accused Besse of having invited a “hateful trump” to work with him on the efforts of financial literacy.
“I will personally tell President Trump and show him these receipts personally,” wrote Loomer on social networks, adding “shame on”.
Musk shared his post and sounded with his support-“disturbing”, he wrote.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
