In case you hadn’t heard, things are not going too well for some of Donald Trump’s top White House staffers. His chief strategist, former Breitbart executive Steve Bannon, was removed from the National Security Council amid his ongoing squabbles with Jared Kushner, the president’s senior advisor and son-in-law. Kushner, meanwhile, is taking heat for not disclosing meetings with Russian officials while he was seeking top security clearance during the transition. So to help calm things down, a new report indicates Trump officiated a meeting between the two men in Mar-a-Lago.
According to Politico, two anonymous White House officials confirmed the “bury-the-hatchet meeting” and Trump’s oversight in the matter:
The sit-down, which was confirmed by two White House officials, was an attempt to smooth over tensions between the two men, which have dominated headlines for days. Whether the meeting was successful in creating a détente — and how long it lasts — is an open question, especially in a White House that has been dominated by infighting.
Of course, seeing as how Politico’s story originates from unnamed sources with alleged ties to the administration, it’s difficult to tell whether or not it’s true. Then again, considering Bannon’s almost quitting the White House altogether and he and Reince Priebus’ possibly being tossed aside by Trump in the near future, the behind-the-scenes tensions in the current administration are practically guaranteed at this point.
Not to mention all the flack Trump’s White House is catching for his late decision to pursue military action in Syria, which incurred negative responses from the alt-right. Late Friday much of the issue’s focus revolved around the #FireKushner and #KeepBannon hashtags on conservative Twitter, so it’s all-too obvious where Trump’s more ardent, right-wing supporters stand on the matter.
(Via Politico)