Washington has always had its share of leaks. Trading information is a kind of currency among those who work within the huge bureaucracy of government.
But the leaks pouring out of President Trump’s White House are bolder and more damaging than anything we’ve seen before.
The Rogue POTUS Staff account on Twitter has been active nearly every day, in spite of the dangerous situation they find themselves in.
The picture that they paint is one of a White House with a leader who is being manipulated by those around him as they fight for power. Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller are presented as one team of actors who want to control the President. On the other side are more traditional political operatives, including Reince Priebus, the Chief of Staff, and Vice President Mike Pence.
The fighting between the two factions came to a head over General Mike Flynn and his Russian contacts. You can follow it through the tweets of the Rogue POTUS Staff.
Flynn sanctions talk is being treated as fortunate smokescreen. Nothing will come of it, but it will keep attention away from hotter issues.
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 10, 2017
Sanction talk is missing the big picture. Flynn tapped for a reason. Boot him, POTUS will just replace w/ another conduit to Putin.
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 13, 2017
From these tweets, and others that followed, it appears that a fight went on between the two factions. Bannon and Miller wanted to keep Flynn in place, but the VP was furious about having been lied to. Pence had gone on the air defending Flynn, insisting that the lifting of sanctions against Russia was never discussed when Flynn talked with his Russian counterparts before Trump took office.
Pence, it seems, won the battle.
Pence and Preibus have scored a victory. But will it be enough to save Preibus? The W may be short lived.
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 14, 2017
Ryan's statement false. POTUS was bypassed. Pence made resignation happen.
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 14, 2017
The Twitter feed also makes it very clear that Trump hates being manipulated, and is often furious as well as confused. Reading the tweets gives the impression of a surly adolescent with parents who control him with bribery and tricks.
POTUS has that bulging forehead vein thing going on. Something has hit a nerve. Should there be a rally in front of the White House soon?
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 15, 2017
POTUS once again feeling like he's being sabotaged from within. He's not wrong, but his his reasoning is completely off the mark.
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 14, 2017
Finally, there’s this tweet that seems to explain Trump’s strange disappearance from Twitter over the last week, and his sudden reappearance, with a vengeance, just this morning.
The good news for POTUS is that accepting Flynn's sudden resg gave him leverage to negotiate the return of his phone. Such a deal maker.
— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) February 14, 2017
As the official information coming from the White House gets more confusing, it’s good to have a place to go for what sure looks like inside information.
Follow these brave souls on Twitter. They’re getting us the information we need to have at least some idea of what’s going on behind those Presidential walls.
Featured image through WikiMedia Commons. (Public domain)
