Trump is lashing out, and everyone is in the blast zone: At this point, if you’re not in the “use the Department of Homeland Security or the military to impound voting machines” camp, the president considers you weak and beneath contempt.
WASHINGTON D.C. (Axios) – According to Axios, Donald Trump is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him. In his final days as U.S. President, he is irritated about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election. Several top officials told the publication.
Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid, or disloyal — and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. “We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House. Top officials are trying to stay away from the West Wing right now”. Says the publication.
Trump is lashing out, and everyone is in the blast zone: At this point, if you’re not in the “use the Department of Homeland Security or the military to impound voting machines” camp, the president considers you weak and beneath contempt. Trump is fed up with Cipollone, his counsel. Some supporters of Cipollone are worried that Trump is on the brink of removing him and replacing him with a fringe loyalist.
A source who spoke to Trump said the president was complaining about Pence and brought up a Lincoln Project ad that claims that Pence is “backing away” from Trump. This ad has clearly got inside Trump’s head, the source said. Trump views Pence as not fighting hard enough for him — the same complaint he uses against virtually everybody who works for him and has been loyal to him.
According to people who’ve discussed the matter with him, Pence’s role on Jan. 6 has begun to loom large in Trump’s mind. Trump would view Pence performing his constitutional duty — and validating the election result — as the ultimate betrayal.
A new fixation: Trump has even been asking advisers whether they can get state legislatures to rescind their electoral votes. When he’s told no, he lashes out, even more, said a source who discussed the matter with the president. And in an Oval meeting Monday night, Trump spoke with House Republicans about voting to overturn the result on Jan. 6 — a desperate vote that even Trump has privately acknowledged he’s bound to lose.
According to multiple administration officials, the person who has the worst job in Washington: the incoming head of the Justice Department, Jeffrey Rosen. The consensus is he has no earthly idea of the insanity he is in for.
The next month will be the longest in Trump’s life.
