The New York Times tells us that Donald Trump’s staff was surprised about their boss’s racist rant yesterday, but not because they didn’t realize he felt that way:
“Racism is evil,” the president said on Monday, delivering a statement from the White House that was written with aides during airplane and helicopter flights….But his unifying tone, which his staff characterized as more traditionally presidential, quickly gave way to a more familiar Trump approach. No sooner had he delivered the Monday statement than he began railing privately to his staff about the news media. He fumed to aides about how unfairly he was being treated, and expressed sympathy with nonviolent protesters who he said were defending their “heritage,” according to a West Wing official.
….The president’s fury grew Monday as members of a White House business council began to resign to protest his reaction to Charlottesville. As usual, Mr. Trump found his voice by tweeting angrily about the news media. By Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Trump’s staff sensed the culmination of a familiar cycle: The president was about to revert to his initial, more defiant stance. As Mr. Trump approached the microphone in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday, aides winced at the prospect of an unmediated president. With good reason.
They know what he believes, but they stick around anyway. You’d think there might be at least one with the integrity to resign in protest, but I guess not. After all, if they left they’d probably be on the receiving end of some pretty nasty presidential tweets. It would take a strong man to stand up to that.
