Donald Trump, starved for attention: ‘Maybe it’s the calm before the storm’

Embed from Getty Images

There’s always a lingering conversation within the media about whether or not they’re “normalizing” Donald Trump’s unhinged and childish behavior. Some journalists are normalizing it, and some aren’t. I have sympathy for all of them, honestly, because there’s just so much and at some point, you just become a stenographer to insanity. Like, that’s all you can do – there’s little point in offering context or any kind of editorial message, you can only say “this is what he said next” and sigh. So, in this brave new bigly world, we are all stenographers to insanity. Donald Trump has been so pissypants mad that people are paying more attention to Rex Tillerson this week. So mad that Trump is trying to pull focus. He announced last night, in the middle of a dinner/event with senior military leaders, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm. Could be the calm, the calm before the storm.” The reporters asked him, “What storm Mr. President? ISIS? North Korea? Iran?” His reply, “You’ll find out.” Trump is going to pull a bunch of sh-t today just to get attention.

What will he do for attention? Probably fire Rex Tillerson. That’s what all of the reporters are saying now. “Six administration officials” confirm to NBC News that chief of staff John Kelly has been doing damage control all week about the Trump-Tillerson fallout. Trump has been “furious” with Tillerson ever since NBC reported that Tillerson called him a “f–king moron.” And now Trump is even angrier because Tillerson is GETTING MORE ATTENTION. From Axios:

Trump advisers and allies are floating the idea of replacing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, age 53 — someone who’s already around the table in the Situation Room, and could make the switch without chaos. We’re told that Trump is quite comfortable with Pompeo, asking his advice on topics from immigration to the inner workings of Congress… Pompeo is one of the few in the administration who knows how to convey tough news to the president, and how to push back without turning DJT off. (SecDef Mattis is good at that, too.)

Trump doesn’t see Pompeo as a showboat. Pompeo would take the job, as the cap to a career that included being a U.S. House member from Kansas. Pompeo would have credibility with world leaders, who’d know he was a legit part of the president’s inner circle — something no one thinks about Tillerson.

Sources tell us Trump recognizes that a Cabinet shuffle would bring bad press. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wants stability, and so is discouraging high-level departures before next year. And yet, insiders say Trump’s relationship with Tillerson is broken beyond repair. We’re told Trump was furious that Tillerson didn’t try to blunt the story about him calling the president a “moron,” by just going out and denying it (whether or not it actually occurred). After what Trump considered a strong trip to Vegas, he seethed when he got back and saw Tillerson’s gaffe dominating cable-news coverage. Everywhere he flipped, there was Tillerson’s face instead of his.

The relationship is so toxic, sources tell Jonathan Swan and me, that few in the White House think it can be rebuilt. There’s zero trust between the West Wing and the State Department.

[From Axios]

Considering all hell usually breaks loose at about 3 or 4 pm every Friday during the Trump administration, I’m assuming that today will follow a similar pattern. Tillerson will give a grumpy presser announcing his “retirement” and praising Trump. Trump will get to do some fancy signing ceremonies for a handful of executive orders, at least one of which will be rolling back the birth control mandate on Obamacare. Chaos will reign throughout the weekend while Trump golfs and tweets about the NFL and nasty Puerto Rican mayors. Rinse and repeat.