Trump was reeling from his coronavirus bungled response and made things worse by replacing Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney with Mark Meadows.
Trump tweeted the announcement:
….I want to thank Acting Chief Mick Mulvaney for having served the Administration so well. He will become the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2020
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
According to The Washington Post, Trump’s own advisers are questioning the move:
One longtime Trump adviser said it was a questionable choice to install Meadows, given that he has no experience leading such a large operation.
“The president, and I’ve heard him say this, sees Mark as very good politically,†said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. “But the president is a political animal. He needs someone who will actually take care of the store for him while he’s out running for reelection. And there’s a question in my mind whether Mark can do that.â€
….
Some in the president’s orbit, though, worry that Meadows is duplicitous. Several current and former Trump aides say they feel he often tells the president one thing but sometimes tells lawmakers or Capitol Hill staffers something entirely different.
Trump’s motivation for this change is obvious. He needed someone to blame for his failed coronavirus response, and Mulvaney is taking the fall. Meadows is a terrible choice to serve as Trump’s chief of staff. In a reelection year, the incumbent president is bringing in someone with zero experience in running such a large organization.
If the past is any indication, Trump will quickly sour on Meadows, and he will be gone in a matter of months. Trump and the country need the White House to have a real chief of staff, but Trump’s attraction to stooges and clowns will only deepen the incompetence of his failed administration.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
