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Kathianne
09-01-2017, 11:40 AM
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/451006/donald-trumps-administration-has-insubordination-problem?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Lowry

I certainly wouldn't call Rich Lowry pro-Trump, but he does want him to succeed and this is not a good moment. I noticed both Tillerson and Mattis, read more about the Cohn coverage, which seemed more a result of his being Jewish than anything else.


Trump’s Insubordination Problem
by RICH LOWRY September 1, 2017 12:00 AM

Donald Trump told us that he’d hire the best people. He didn’t mention that he’d be unable to fire them.
The president is experiencing a bout of insubordination from his top officials the likes of which we haven’t witnessed in the modern era. It’s not unusual to have powerful officials at war among themselves, or in the presidential doghouse. It’s downright bizarre to have them publicly undercut the president without fear of consequence.


The new measure of power in Washington is how far you can go criticizing the president at whose pleasure you serve. The hangers-on and junior players must do it furtively and anonymously. Only a principal like Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson, or James Mattis can do it out in the open and get away with it.


First, it was chief economic adviser Cohn saying in an interview (http://nypost.com/2017/08/25/gary-cohn-trump-must-do-a-better-job-of-condemning-hate-groups/) that the administration — i.e., Donald J. Trump — must do a better job denouncing hate groups. Then it was Secretary of State Tillerson suggesting in a stunning interview (https://twitter.com/WardDPatrick/status/901807386163367936) with Chris Wallace of Fox News that the rest of the government speaks for American values, but not necessarily the president. Finally, Secretary of Defense Mattis contradicted (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mattis-dismisses-trump-on-halting-diplomacy-with-north-korea/) without a moment’s hesitation a Trump tweet saying we are done talking with North Korea.


In a more normal time, in a more normal administration, any of these would be a firing offense. Tillerson, in particular, should have been told before he was off the set of Fox News on Sunday that he was only going to be allowed to return to the seventh floor of the State Department to clean out his desk.


The fact that this hasn’t happened is an advertisement of Trump’s precarious standing, broadcast by officials he himself selected for positions of significant power and prestige. This isn’t the work of the deep state, career bureaucrats maneuvering or leaking from somewhere deep within the agencies. This is the shallow state, the very top layer of the government, operating in broad daylight.


Trump, of course, largely brought this on himself. He is reaping the rewards of his foolish public spat with Jeff Sessions and of his woeful Charlottesville remarks.


By publicly humiliating his own attorney general, Trump seemed to want to make him quit. When Sessions stayed put, Trump didn’t fire him because he didn’t want to deal with the fallout. In the implicit showdown, Sessions had won. Not only had Trump shown that he was all bark and no bite, he had demonstrated his lack of loyalty to those working for him.


So why should those working for him fear him or be loyal to him? With his loss of moral legitimacy post-Charlottesville, the president is more dependent on the people around him than they are on him.


“Globalist Gary,” as his Trumpist enemies style him, is invested with considerable market power, more than any political official besides the president himself. Tillerson is eminently replaceable, but his immediate sacking would be too destabilizing. If Mattis were to leave, it would cause a freak-out on Capitol Hill and around the world.


Mattis and Co. obviously consider themselves the president’s minders more than his underlings. But the least they could do is not air this patronizing attitude. They are impressive and accomplished people, but no one elected any of them president of the United States. They don’t do the country any favors by highlighting Trump’s weakness and by making it obvious that the American government doesn’t speak with one voice.


It should be up to chief of staff John Kelly to make it stop. This isn’t “the system working,” the cliche for how various other power centers have thwarted Trump in the early going. It’s the system gone haywire and tottering on the brink of a more serious crisis.


Nothing good can come from top officials of the U.S. government making it obvious that they believe, to borrow Tillerson’s phrase, that the president speaks for himself — and no one else.

jimnyc
09-01-2017, 11:50 AM
I agree to an extent. But I think it's another damned if you do position. He got literally slammed for previous firings, and was accused of firing people who simply disagreed with him or didn't think like him. And I believe he would easily get the same here if he fired any of the above.

I like these 3 though. But regardless, I sure hope Trump may have told them after the fact of how he felt, and made his position clear if it should continue. That's only a guess there, but I would hope he would.

The media sucks. They will rip him no matter what the decision or reasoning.

But repair is still needed. I think it's happened a lot since the initial days and staff, but still has much room for improvement.

Kathianne
09-01-2017, 11:55 AM
I agree to an extent. But I think it's another damned if you do position. He got literally slammed for previous firings, and was accused of firing people who simply disagreed with him or didn't think like him. And I believe he would easily get the same here if he fired any of the above.

I like these 3 though. But regardless, I sure hope Trump may have told them after the fact of how he felt, and made his position clear if it should continue. That's only a guess there, but I would hope he would.

The media sucks. They will rip him no matter what the decision or reasoning.

But repair is still needed. I think it's happened a lot since the initial days and staff, but still has much room for improvement.

I don't know how some of these problems CAN be fixed. What Lowry said regarding Sessions and the awareness that loyalty is just runs one way with Trump, is really evident. These are not low IQ people, they get what happened.

Like Kelly, I don't think these 3 in particular have a 'growing respect' for Trump and that too is problematic. In most cases, Nixon and Carter are examples that prove the rule, those that work closely with a president, usually come to like them more in spite of problems. That doesn't seem to be happening here.

jimnyc
09-01-2017, 12:13 PM
I don't fully trust Tillerson and Cohn, but I don't think Mattis is as much of a problem for Trump. He's just a speak your mind kind of guy, IMO.. or general.

Kathianne
09-01-2017, 12:15 PM
I don't fully trust Tillerson and Cohn, but I don't think Mattis is as much of a problem for Trump. He's just a speak your mind kind of guy, IMO.. or general.

Who would you have him put in place of those two?

Kathianne
09-01-2017, 12:25 PM
I think my last post may have been unfair, as Jim has no input in who would be qualified to take those positions.

I do think that Trump has a problem and it is with himself. He wants people that can do the job, but will only do it the way he wants. The problem is that he doesn't seem to have a tight grip on what each department does or how they operate. Throw on top of that his penchant for tweets and speaking off script and you have the incidents that lead intelligent people to speak up and often disagree with what said or written.

While his 'loyalty' was highly touted during the campaign, it has not been in evidence in his role as candidate or president. In fact, the only ones who can seemingly take some comfort in said loyalty would be his family and those married into.

jimnyc
09-01-2017, 12:33 PM
Who would you have him put in place of those two?

Admittedly, that's way way above my pay grade!! I think both seem to be more than capable for their positions. But if there's going to be a problem in the in WH, and change is needed for a more cohesive unit... then hopefully someone IN that pay grade can find folks.

Man, always times like this when I think of Condi!! She would be absolutely perfect for Prez, IMO, but SoS would be a walk in the park for her.

Kathianne
09-01-2017, 12:40 PM
Admittedly, that's way way above my pay grade!! I think both seem to be more than capable for their positions. But if there's going to be a problem in the in WH, and change is needed for a more cohesive unit... then hopefully someone IN that pay grade can find folks.

Man, always times like this when I think of Condi!! She would be absolutely perfect for Prez, IMO, but SoS would be a walk in the park for her.

She was no 'outsider.'

pete311
09-01-2017, 02:08 PM
Insubordination? I thought Trump was the world's best leader, business man and negotiator. Seems to have a lot of enemies for such titles.

aboutime
09-01-2017, 02:47 PM
Insubordination? I thought Trump was the world's best leader, business man and negotiator. Seems to have a lot of enemies for such titles.


petey boy. You're out of your league on this one again. What you, and other liberals call Insubordination is actually President Trump's way of PRANKING, or DISSING people like you. All of you pay more attention to what you WISH, THINK, or FANTASIZE about by using the Conspiracy/What If's, hypotheticals than you actually pay attention to everything he is accomplishing...MUCH TO YOUR DISPLEASURE.

Tell us petey. How many Billion dollar deals, or business' do you have, or have you had?

And...when was the last time you thought, said, or wondered anything nice, or positive in your life..other than PRETENDING you are smarter than everyone else???