- Lately Sean Spicer’s Deputy Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mike Huckabee’s daughter, has been lying for Trump and she is not doing much better than Spicer did. Huckabee Sanders said one thing then Trump contradicted that and said the opposite thing, they need to get their lies straight first of all. Then Huckabee Sanders actually came out and said “We want this to come to its conclusion, we want it to come to its conclusion with integrity,” she said, referring to the FBI’s probe into Moscow’s interference in last year’s election. “And we think that we’ve actually, by removing Director Comey, taken steps to make that happen.” The problem is not who is standing at the podium lying, Spicer or Huckabee Sanders, it does not matter, the problem is that they are lying at all.
- July 21st 2017 as reported in the New York Times: Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned Friday (July 21st 2017) after telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with his appointment of Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier, as his new communications director. After offering Mr. Scaramucci the job on Friday (July 21st 2017) morning, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Spicer to stay on as press secretary, reporting to Mr. Scaramucci. But Mr. Spicer rejected the offer, expressing his belief that Mr. Scaramucci’s hiring would add to the confusion and uncertainty already engulfing the White House, according to two people with direct knowledge of the exchange. Mr. Spicer’s top deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, will serve as press secretary instead.
“The Daily Show” promoted a video on July 24th 2017 showing the striking similarities between Trump’s and Anthony Scaramucci’s speaking styles. Scaramucci was named White House director of communications on July 21st. In the video compilation, Scaramucci is seen mirroring Trump’s body language and hand gestures almost perfectly. In a tweet promoting the video “The Daily Show” noted: “The Mooch did his homework.” See the full video here.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams As he takes over as White House Communications Director, will Anthony Scaramucci encourage Trump to behave more like candidate Trump? Our panel discusses.
- So now Scaramucci is fighting with Reince Priebus and Stephen K. Bannon. As reported in The New York Times: The internal rivalries of the White House spilled out into stark public view on Thursday (July 27th 2017) as Trump’s new communications director publicly attacked the chief of staff, calling him a “paranoid schizophrenic” leaker and vowing to get him fired. Anthony Scaramucci, who was installed as White House communications director last week over the objections of the chief of staff, Reince Priebus, in the morning called into CNN to say that the two men were at odds and to dare Mr. Priebus to deny being a leaker. By the evening, The New Yorker had posted an interview quoting Mr. Scaramucci using vulgar language to describe Mr. Priebus.
White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Wednesday (July 26th 2017) he will contact federal agencies over the “leak” of his financial disclosures, which he called a “felony,” despite the forms being publicly accessible. “In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45” Scaramucci tweeted late Wednesday. The tweet followed POLITICO’s publication of Scaramucci’s financial disclosures filed in the course of his employment with the Export-Import Bank. The documents are publicly available on request. Scaramucci subsequently deleted the tweet and replaced it with another disavowing widespread speculation that his message implied that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus should be investigated. “Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks. @Reince 45.”
Speaking to CNN’s New Day co-host Chris Cuomo Thursday (July 27th 2017) morning, Scaramucci acknowledged that the documents are available publicly but still denounced leaks. “I understand the law. I know that there was a public disclosure mechanism in my financial forms,” he said. “What I’m upset about is the process and the junk pool, the dirty pool, Chris, in terms of the way this stuff is being done, and the leaking won’t stop.” The newly appointed White House communications director has made cracking down on White House leaks a staple of his early tenure. On Tuesday (July 24th 2017), Scaramucci threatened “to fire everybody” to stop the flow of leaks to the press, which have fueled numerous damaging reports about the administration.
On All In with Chris Hayes White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci uses ‘colorful’ language in a tirade against Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams After financial details of new White House Communications boss Anthony Scaramucci leaked to the press, Scaramucci reportedly wants the FBI to investigate if that leak came from Reince Priebus.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams The war in the White House got public and it got ugly with Anthony Scaramucci’s profanity filled interview with one reporter. Is the White House becoming too dysfunctional to get anything done? Our panel reacts.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Before even officially becoming Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci went on a threatening, vulgar tirade, attacking fellow White House aides and “leakers.” Lawrence O’Donnell argues this is a test—if Trump keeps Scaramucci, his presidency may never recover.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Obama Press Secretary Josh Earnest and Bush speechwriter David Frum join Lawrence O’Donnell to explain the deficiencies of the Trump communications team and how Anthony Scaramucci is not only ill-suited to his new role, but also doing far more harm than good.
- Reince Priebus says he resigned as White House chief of staff Thursday (July 27th 2017). Donald Trump drove out his chief of staff on Friday (July 28th 2017), replacing Reince Priebus with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in an explosive move that ends a turbulent six-month tenure. Trump made the announcement on Twitter just after landing on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.
“I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff,” Trump tweeted. “He is a Great American… and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration.” Priebus, who had traveled with Trump to Long Island for an event on gang violence, was seated inside a Secret Service van on the tarmac when the message came down. Sources close to Priebus insisted to CNN throughout the day Friday he was not resigning, leaving the impression the aide was defiantly hanging onto his job amid public shaming by his colleagues.
The move followed months of on-again, off-again speculation that Priebus would soon be ousted from an administration where he has consistently drawn heavy criticism for failing to stem the flow of leaks and struggled to impose a sense of order in a chaotic White House beset by controversies.
Priebus, who was brought on by the outsider President in large part because of his Washington relationships, also wound up carrying a hefty share of the blame for the White House’s legislative stumbles. Rumors of infighting among Trump’s staff eventually devolved into all-out warfare, bursting dramatically into the open late Thursday (July 27th 2017) with a vulgar screed from incoming communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
This was a major shake-up designed to bring order and military precision to a West Wing beset for six straight months by chaos, infighting and few tangible accomplishments. With his legislative agenda largely stalled, Trump became convinced that Priebus was a “weak” leader after being lobbied intensely by rival advisers to remove the establishment Republican fixture who has long had friction with some of Trump’s inner-circle loyalists, according to White House officials.
Kelly’s hiring is expected to usher in potentially sweeping structural changes to the turbulent operation and perhaps the departures of some remaining Priebus allies. Kelly intends to bring some semblance of traditional discipline to the West Wing, where warring advisers have been able to circumvent the chief of staff and report directly to the president and sidestep the policy process, according to people with knowledge of his plans.
Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, earned Trump’s approval for his work combating illegal immigration and his leadership qualities, both in the battlefield and at the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump has been talking privately about replacing Priebus with Kelly for several weeks now, though he is an unconventional pick to run the White House considering he has no political or legislative experience.
Trump first tried to offer the chief of staff job to Kelly in mid-May, according to two people familiar with their discussions. Kelly told the president that he was flattered, but declined, saying he still had more to accomplish beefing up national security and improving immigration enforcement. Trump did not give up, however. “The president has tried to convince the general multiple times, and the general has politely declined several times,” said one administration official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “But given what’s going on in Washington, I think the president really needs the general to help him restore order in this White House and advance his vision.”
Trump thanked Priebus on Twitter “for his service and dedication to his country. We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him!”
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell New Chief of Staff John Kelly will have to wrangle a man Eugene Robinson calls ‘Mad King Donald’ and his a mediocre staff if he’s to be at all effective. Will even Kelly end up a casualty of Trump? Robinson, Peter Wehner, and Chris Whipple join Lawrence O’Donnell.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Just six months in to what has become a chaotic presidency, Reince Priebus is out as Trump’s Chief of Staff. Our reporter panel shares the latest on his departure.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Can a former four-star Marine general bring some calm to the choppy waters of the Trump White House? Three men who know the general well join us to discuss.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Before it was announced on Twitter by Trump that Reince Priebus was out as Chief of Staff, he endured vulgar attacks from Trump’s new communications man Anthony Scaramucci.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Will incoming Trump Chief of Staff General John Kelly have better luck than Reince Priebus? Boston Globe Washington columnist Indira Lakshmanan doesn’t like Kelly’s chances.
If the idea of bringing in General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff is to bring order, control and discipline to the White House, basically to stabilize the White House, well good luck with that. No one can bring order, control and discipline to this chaos. This White House is a house teetering on a toothpick, there is no stabilizing this mess and there is only a matter of time before this mess collapses.
But we will see just how far General/Secretary John F Kelly can get before General/Secretary John F Kelly says screw this, I don’t need this headache in my life and leaves himself.
The Anthony Scaramucci stuff is nonsense and just another distraction from the White House to take the focus from the main issues.
On All In with Chris Hayes The day after Reince Priebus resigned, a Twitter prankster pretending to be Priebus emailed Anthony Scaramucci. Imagine his surprise when Scaramucci actually responded.
- July 31st 2017 Anthony Scaramucci is out as White House communications director. It’s the latest high-profile departure from the Trump White House. Chief of Staff Reince Priebus resigned at the end of last week, replaced by John Kelly, whose first day is Monday (July 31st 2017). “Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Director,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Monday afternoon. “Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give chief of staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best.”
A White House official said Kelly wanted Scaramucci removed from his new role as the communications director because he did not think he was disciplined and had burned his credibility. Scaramucci, a colorful and controversial figure, was brought on during the latest in a long list of White House shake ups that have rocked the presidency with a sense of chaos. Scaramucci is the third White House communications director to leave the post that had been vacant since late May, when Mike Dubke left after about three months on the job. Sean Spicer, the former White House press secretary, also assumed some of the communications director role before he resigned when Scaramucci was hired July 21. Scaramucci’s departure comes days after he unleashed a vulgar tirade against two top White House officials in a conversation with a reporter.
Well General/Secretary John F Kelly passed Lawrence O’Donnell’s first test by getting Anthony Scaramucci out the first day on the job. Some have said if anybody can do the job General/Secretary John F Kelly can do the job. Perhaps General/Secretary John F Kelly can stabilize this mess but we will see what happens next.
On The Rachel Maddow Show Jonathan Swan, national political reporter for Axios, talks with Joy-Ann Reid about how Donald Trump managed to dismiss Anthony Scaramucci from the White House communications director position after a record-setting ten days.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell As Lawrence predicted, General John Kelly would have to make an immediate decision on Anthony Scaramucci’s role in the White House but there are still many more tests ahead like who to allow to see the President and who else should be removed from the West Wing.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell John Kelly is already making changes in the White House but as Max Boot says, the President could be the insolvable problem inside the West Wing. Max Boot, Jeremy Bash and White House Chief of Staff expert Chris Whipple join Lawrence.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Republicans inside and outside the White House worry that Trump will fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions with grave consequences. Can new Chief of Staff John Kelly prevent that? Bloomberg’s Al Hunt and The Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff join Lawrence.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Donald Trump’s new boss John Kelly assures the Attorney General his job is safe, despite Trump’s displeasure with Jeff Sessions’ recusal. And the Republican Congress just isn’t listening to the president. Sam Stein and Ron Klain join Lawrence O’Donnell.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Jonathan Lemire, Eli Stokols and Shannon Pettypiece discuss General Kelly’s first week and Trump’s approval rating hitting a new low.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell The new Chief of Staff, Retired General John Kelly, is trying to restore order to a White House under siege. But is President Trump relying too much on military officials for civilian jobs? Tom Nichols of the U.S. Naval War College and Jonathan Capehart join Ari Melber.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton, Mack McLarty, discusses the job facing Trump’s new Chief of Staff John Kelly.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams After over 200 days of reports that Trump’s White House is chaotic and divided, can his new chief of staff John Kelly finally bring some calm? Zeke Miller & Anita Kumar react.
On All In with Chris Hayes Why are they always fighting in the Trump White House? Olivia Nuzzi and Bethany Mandel weigh in.
