This was all part of the next stage of Trumpism—to protect it from Trump.
* * *
General Kelly was conscientiously and grimly trying to purge the West Wing chaos. He had begun by compartmentalizing the sources and nature of the chaos. The overriding source, of course, was the president’s own eruptions, which Kelly could not control and had resigned himself to accepting. As for the ancillary chaos, much of it had been calmed by the elimination of Bannon, Priebus, Scaramucci, and Spicer, with the effect of making it quite a Jarvanka-controlled West Wing.
Now, nine months in, the administration faced the additional problem that it was very hard to hire anyone of stature to replace the senior people who had departed. And the stature of those who remained seemed to be more diminutive by the week.
Hope Hicks, at twenty-eight, and Stephen Miller, at thirty-two, both of whom had begun as effective interns on the campaign, were now among the seniormost figures in the White House. Hicks had assumed command of the communications operation, and Miller had effectively replaced Bannon as the senior political strategist.
After the Scaramucci fiasco, and the realization that the position of communications director would be vastly harder to fill, Hicks was assigned the job as the “interim” director. She was given the interim title partly because it seemed implausible that she was qualified to run an already battered messaging operation, and partly because if she was given the permanent job everyone would assume that the president was effectively calling the daily shots. But by the middle of September, interim was quietly converted to permanent.
In the larger media and political world, Miller—who Bannon referred to as “my typist”—was a figure of ever increasing incredulity. He could hardly be taken out in public without engaging in some screwball, if not screeching, fit of denunciation and grievance. He was the de facto crafter of policy and speeches, and yet up until now he had largely only taken dictation.
Most problematic of all, Hicks and Miller, along with everyone on the Jarvanka side, were now directly connected to actions involved in the Russian investigation or efforts to spin it, deflect it, or, indeed, cover it up. Miller and Hicks had drafted—or at least typed—Kushner’s version of the first letter written at Bedminster to fire Comey. Hicks had joined with Kushner and his wife to draft on Air Force One the Trump-directed press release about Don Jr. and Kushner’s meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower.
In its way, this had become the defining issue for the White House staff: who had been in what inopportune room. And even beyond the general chaos, the constant legal danger formed part of the high barrier to getting people to come work in the West Wing.
Kushner and his wife—now largely regarded as a time bomb inside the White House—were spending considerable time on their own defense and battling a sense of mounting paranoia, not least about what members of the senior staff who had already exited the West Wing might now say about them. Kushner, in the middle of October, would, curiously, add to his legal team Charles Harder, the libel lawyer who had defended both Hulk Hogan in his libel suit against Gawker, the Internet gossip site, and Melania Trump in her suit against the Daily Mail. The implied threat to media and to critics was clear. Talk about Jared Kushner at your peril. It also likely meant that Donald Trump was yet managing the White House’s legal defense, slotting in his favorite “tough guy” lawyers.
Beyond Donald Trump’s own daily antics, here was the consuming issue of the White House: the ongoing investigation directed by Robert Mueller. The father, the daughter, the son-in-law, his father, the extended family exposure, the prosecutor, the retainers looking to save their own skins, the staffers who Trump had rewarded with the back of his hand—it all threatened, in Bannon’s view, to make Shakespeare look like Dr. Seuss.
Everyone waited for the dominoes to fall, and to see how the president, in his fury, might react and change the game again.
* * *
Steve Bannon was telling people he thought there was a 33.3 percent chance that the Mueller investigation would lead to the impeachment of the president, a 33.3 percent chance that Trump would resign, perhaps in the wake of a threat by the cabinet to act on the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (by which the cabinet can remove the president in the event of his incapacitation), and a 33.3 percent chance that he would limp to the end of his term. In any event, there would certainly not be a second term, or even an attempt at one.
“He’s not going to make it,” said Bannon at the Breitbart Embassy. “He’s lost his stuff.”
Less volubly, Bannon was telling people something else: he, Steve Bannon, was going to run for president in 2020. The locution, “If I were president…” was turning into, “When I am president…”
The top Trump donors from 2016 were in his camp, Bannon claimed: Sheldon Adelson, the Mercers, Bernie Marcus, and Peter Thiel. In short order, and as though he had been preparing for this move for some time, Bannon had left the White House and quickly thrown together a rump campaign organization. The heretofore behind-the-scenes Bannon was methodically meeting with every conservative leader in the country—doing his best, as he put it, to “kiss the ass and pay homage to all the gray-beards.” And he was keynoting a list of must-attend conservative events.
“Why is Steve speaking? I didn’t know he spoke,” the president remarked with puzzlement and rising worry to aides.
Trump had been upstaged in other ways as well. He had been scheduled for a major 60 Minutes interview in September, but this was abruptly canceled after Bannon’s 60 Minutes interview with Charlie Rose on September 11. The president’s advisers felt he shouldn’t put himself in a position where he would be compared with Bannon. The worry among staffers—all of them concerned that Trump’s rambling and his alarming repetitions (the same sentences delivered with the same expressions minutes apart) had significantly increased, and that his ability to stay focused, never great, had notably declined—was that he was likely to suffer by such a comparison. Instead, the interview with Trump was offered to Sean Hannity—with a preview of the questions.
Bannon was also taking the Breitbart opposition research group—the same forensic accountant types who had put together the damning Clinton Cash revelations—and focusing it on what he characterized as the “political elites.” This was a catchall list of enemies that included as many Republicans as Democrats.
Most of all, Bannon was focused on fielding candidates for 2018. While the president had repeatedly threatened to support primary challenges against his enemies, in the end, with his aggressive head start, it was Bannon who would be leading these challenges. It was Bannon spreading fear in the Republican Party, not Trump. Indeed, Bannon was willing to pick outré if not whacky candidates—including former Staten Island congressman Michael Grimm, who had done a stint in federal prison—to demonstrate, as he had demonstrated with Trump, the scale, artfulness, and menace of Bannon-style politics. Although the Republicans in the 2018 congressional races were looking, according to Bannon’s numbers, at a 15-point deficit, it was Bannon’s belief that the more extreme the right-wing challenge appeared, the more likely the Democrats would field left-wing nutters even less electable than right-wing nutters. The disruption had just begun.
Trump, in Bannon’s view, was a chapter, or even a detour, in the Trump revolution, which had always been about weaknesses in the two major parties. The Trump presidency—however long it lasted—had created the opening that would provide the true outsiders their opportunity. Trump was just the beginning.
Standing on the Breitbart steps that October morning, Bannon smiled and said: “It’s going to be wild as shit.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to Janice Min and Matthew Belloni at the Hollywood Reporter, who, eighteen months ago, got me up one morning to jump on a plane in New York and that evening interview the unlikely candidate in Los Angeles. My publisher, Stephen Rubin, and editor, John Sterling, at Henry Holt have not only generously supported this book but shepherded it with enthusiasm and
care on an almost daily basis. My agent, Andrew Wylie, made this book happen, as usual, virtually overnight.
Michael Jackson at Two Cities TV, Peter Benedek at UTA, and my lawyers, Kevin Morris and Alex Kohner, have patiently pushed this project forward.
A libel reading can be like a visit to the dentist. But in my long experience, no libel lawyer is more nuanced, sensitive, and strategic than Eric Rayman. Once again, almost a pleasure.
Many friends, colleagues, and generous people in the greater media and political world have made this a smarter book, among them Mike Allen, Jonathan Swan, John Homans, Franklin Foer, Jack Shafer, Tammy Haddad, Leela de Kretser, Stevan Keane, Matt Stone, Edward Jay Epstein, Simon Dumenco, Tucker Carlson, Joe Scarborough, Piers Morgan, Juleanna Glover, Niki Christoff, Dylan Jones, Michael Ledeen, Mike Murphy, Tim Miller, Larry McCarthy, Benjamin Ginsberg, Al From, Kathy Ruemmler, Matthew Hiltzik, Lisa Dallos, Mike Rogers, Joanna Coles, Steve Hilton, Michael Schrage, Matt Cooper, Jim Impoco, Michael Feldman, Scott McConnell, and Mehreen Maluk.
My appreciation to fact-checkers Danit Lidor, Christina Goulding, and Joanne Gerber.
My greatest thanks to Victoria Floethe, for her support, patience, and insights, and for her good grace in letting this book take such a demanding place in our lives.
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Abbas, Mahmoud
Abe, Shinzō
Abraham Lincoln, USS
Abramovich, Roman
Adelson, Sheldon
Afghanistan
Agalarov, Aras
Agenda, The (Woodward)
Ailes, Beth
Ailes, Roger
Alabama
Al Shayrat airfield strike
alt-right
American Prospect
Anbang Insurance Group
anti-Semitism
Anton, Michael
Apprentice, The (TV show)
Arif, Tevfik
Armey, Dick
Arthur Andersen
Art of the Deal, The (Trump and Schwartz)
Assad, Bashar al-
Atlantic City
Atwater, Lee
Australia
Ayers, Nick
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Baier, Bret
Baker, James
Baker, Peter
Bannon, Steve
Afghanistan and
agenda of, in White House
agenda of, post-firing
alt-right and
background of
campaign and
Charlottesville and
China and
Cohn and
Comey firing and
CPAC and
eve of inauguration and
first weeks of presidency and
Flynn and
immigration and
inauguration and
influence of
isolationism of
Israel and
Ivanka and
Jarvanka vs.
Kelly and
Kushner and
Kuttner call and firing of
media and
NSC and
Obamacare and
Paris Climate Accord and
Pence and
Priebus and
role of, in early presidency
Russia investigation and
Ryan and
Saudi Arabia and
Scaramucci and
Sessions and
Syria and
Trump on
Trump pressured to fire
Trump’s personality and
Trump’s Times interview and
White House appointments and
Barra, Mary
Barrack, Tom
Bartiromo, Maria
Bass, Edward
Bayrock Group
Bedminster Golf Club
Beinart, Peter
Benghazi
Berkowitz, Avi
Berlusconi, Silvio
Berman, Mark
Best and the Brightest, The (Halberstam)
Bezos, Jeff
Biosphere 2
Blackstone Group
Blackwater
Blair, Tony
Blankfein, Lloyd
Bloomberg, Michael
Boehner, John
Boeing
Bolton, John
border wall
Bossie, David
Bowles, Erskine
Boyle, Matthew
Boy Scouts of America
Brady, Tom
Brand, Rachel
Breitbart, Andrew
Breitbart News
Brennan, John
Brexit
Britain
Brooks, Mel
Bryan, William Jennings
Brzezinski, Mika
Brzezinski, Zbigniew
Buckley, William F.
Bush, Billy
Bush, George H. W.
Bush, George W.
Bush, Jeb
business councils
Camp David
Canada
Card, Andrew
Carlson, Tucker
Carter, Arthur
Carter, Graydon
Carter, Jimmy
Caslen, Robert L., Jr.
Celebrity Apprentice (TV show)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Charlottesville rally
chemical weapons
Cheney, Dick
China
Chopra, Deepak
Christie, Chris
Christoff, Niki
Churchill, Winston
Circa news website
Clapper, James
Clinton, Bill
impeachment of
Clinton, Hillary
Comey and
Russian hacking of emails
Clinton Cash (Schweizer)
CNBC
CNN
Cohen, Michael
Cohn, Gary
Cohn, Roy
Collins, Gail
Comey, James
Commerce Department
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
Conway, George
Conway, Kellyanne
Corallo, Mark
Corker, Bob
Corzine, Jon
Coulter, Ann
Couric, Katie
Cruz, Ted
DACA
Daily Mail
Daley, Bill
Davis, Lanny
Dean, John
Defense Intelligence Agency
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Democratic Party
Deripaska, Oleg
Deutsche Bank
Devil’s Bargain, The (Green)
DeVos, Betsy
DeYoung, Karen
Dickerson, John
Digital Entertainment Network
Director of National Intelligence
Disney
Dowd, Mark
Dubai
Dubke, Mike
Duke, David
Dunford, Joseph
Egypt
elections
of 2008
of 2016
of 2017
of 2018
of 2020
Emanuel, Rahm
Enron
environmental regulation
Epstein, Edward Jay
Epstein, Jeffrey
Europe
European Union
executive orders (EOs)
climate change
immigration and travel ban
executive privilege
Export-Import Bank
Facebook
Farage, Nigel
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federalist Society
Federa
Fields, James Alex, Jr.
Financial Times
First Amendment
Five, The (TV show)
Florida
Flynn, Michael
Foer, Franklin
Ford, Gerald
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court
Fourth Amendment
Fox Business Channel
Fox News
Franken, Al
Freedom Caucus
Fusion GPS
G20 summit
Gaddafi, Muammar
Gamergate
Gawker
Gaza
Gazprom
Geffen, David
General Electric (GE)
General Motors
Georgia (post-Soviet)
Gingrich, Newt
Giuliani, Rudy
Glover, Juleanna
Glover Park Group
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs Foundation
Goldwater, Barry
Gore, Al
Gorka, Sebastian
Gorsuch, Neil
Grimm, Michael
Guardian
Guilfoyle, Kimberly
H-1B visas
Haberman, Maggie
Hagin, Joe
Hahn, Julia
Haig, Alexander
Halberstam, David
Haldeman, H. R.
Haley, Nikki
Hall, Jerry
Halperin, Mark
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, king of Bahrain
Hanley, Allie
Hannity, Sean
Harder, Charles
Haspel, Gina
Health and Human Services Department (HHS)
Hemingway, Mark
Heritage Foundation
Heyer, Heather
Hicks, Hope
Hiltzik, Matthew
Hitler, Adolf
HNA Group
Hogan, Hulk
Homeland Security Department
Hoover, J. Edgar
Hubbell, Webster
Hull, Cordell
Hussein, Saddam
Hutchison, Kay Bailey
IBM
Icahn, Carl
Iger, Bob
immigration and travel ban
infrastructure
Ingraham, Laura
intelligence community
Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE)
In the Face of Evil (documentary)
Iran