Donald Trump's sacking of his communications chief Anthony Scaramucci after only 10 days tells a hilarious yet scary story about a dysfunctional and faction-ridden White House led by a seriously ill-prepared chief executive. President Trump's business experience has so far given him little purchase on the strategic and structured use of power. His policy agenda is adrift after six months in office, left hanging as he reacts to the latest crises, most of them self-inflicted. Whether things improve with the appointment of John Kelly, a retired general, as his chief of staff will depend on how Trump changes his own style of governing.
Scaramucci’s departure was well-deserved after his foul-mouthed attacks on other officials. His appointment caused the departure of the press spokesman and then the White House chief of staff. His sacking is a gift to Trump’s liberal enemies who mock his fitness for the job and yearn for an impeachment. They are right to concentrate on the serial half-truths and conflicts of interest involved, and on the growing crisis over whether he colluded with the Russians during the election campaign. But in doing so they tend to under-estimate how little of Trump’s domestic agenda on healthcare, tax reform, immigration and employment has progressed and how much he has dismantled Barack Obama’s environmental and business regulation. His foreign policy is equally adrift.
Kelly is the third military general to fill this vacuum of policy and personnel at the most senior levels of this administration. He will bring discipline to a White House badly in need of structure and skills to run Trump’s diary, gatekeep access to him and more effectively deal with a Congress in which the Republican majority does not guarantee passage of his agenda. The White House is split between a white nationalist faction and a big business friendly one close to Trump’s family. Kelly may moderate their public feuding but will struggle to stop them bidding for the president’s fickle attention.
The Russian issue exemplifies this sense of an administration losing control and out of its depth. Despite Trump’s personal efforts to improve relations with Russia and to cultivate its leader Vladimir Putin, he was unable to prevent Congress ratcheting up sanctions over Russian interference in last year’s elections. The resulting expulsions of diplomats and Putin’s calculated disproportionate response make the rapid deterioration of relations even worse. So does vice-president Mike Pence’s warning over the Russian threat to the Balkan States.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/PCAX45ZHRWGIFQNZIM3RJDJGZU.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/LDFQAU2TQJCKZP5YYFELKGKESM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7UYWMSKDV5IR27Y3RBFYPREFEE.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VLOMWJSCMR4PJSC7KALZPQDF4M.jpg)
Such an important strategic relationship should not be subject to so many political uncertainties and personal entanglements. Kelly faces an uphill task in bringing greater focus and discipline to a White House badly in need of both.